Stephen Attard was involved in a bad car accident in 1984 when he was 21. He sustained serious head injuries and was in a coma for three months. He was rendered severely physically impaired but, with his family backing and their faith in God, Stephen has made a remarkable recovery.

Steve was an active person before his injury and loved sport, especially water polo. Throughout these past years his love for water sport never faltered. In fact his link with the sea set him on a dream - that of doing a long distance swim in aid of a worthy cause.

Steve is an active member of LAND (living ability not disability) besides being a committee member. LAND was founded in 2002 as a non-profit organisation to promote education, independence and most of all inclusion into mainstream society through social activities for the benefit of youths and adults with physical impairments.

Together with a number of volunteers who come from all walks of life, these objectives has proved highly beneficial, filling a void in our society. In order to organise three social activities per month, annual costs amount up to Lm4,000.

This is mainly due to rental of tail-lit equipped vehicles from private companies since most of our members are wheelchair users. LAND does not receive any state financial aid and the hard earned cash raised in fund-raising activities is quickly absorbed in transport costs. So Steve's determination to swim in aid of LAND was a blessing.

This event was held on September 10 and, with the support of his family and friends, he set off from St Paul's island finishing the crossing within two and a half hours at Tal-Ghasselin, St Paul's Bay. Steve's life since his injury has been about swimming against the current, hence his determination to accomplish his dream.

However, Steve's dream wouldn't have got off the ground were it not for the full backing of his family and friends.

As a matter of fact, Stephen's mother swam all the way with him, and his two sisters took turns in accompanying him. His close friends Ronald Cremona, Stephen Cremona, Neville Xuereb and Caesar Scerri were instrumental in providing their boats voluntarily, while Matthew Azzopardi accompanied Steve in the water most of the way. Without their invaluable participation the swim wouldn't have been held.

When Steve came up ashore at Tal-Ghasselin, members of LAND were there to greet him and he was also cheered by those present. Besides raising money for a worthy cause Steve has proved anything can be accomplished with the right support and encouragement.

While congratulating Steve in achieving this ability challenge I would like to heartily thank him, his family and friends for their concern in aid of LAND.