art scene
by Brian McCann
Dancingwith Dolphins Kim Ekman was born in Sweden and from the age of four her dream has been to work with dolphins. She eventually swam with dolphins in 1995 and has been involved in this line of work ever since. She left Sweden with her partner and children, in search of a better quality of life and slowly moved down south to Gibraltar, starting off in Mallorca where her dream first came true.
“My first chance to work with dolphins was in Mallorca at the Marineland Dolphinarium. I am a certified Dive Master and belong to the Professional Association of Diving Instructors which is the most complete education system in the dive industry today. The qualification allows you to supervise dive activities and assist instructors with student divers but at that time however I spoke no Spanish at all and more than once my application was refused. I was determined and knew that if I focussed on my goal, I would get there in the end and finally, I was accepted!’ At the dolphinarium Kim learned a lot about dolphins, sea lions and seals. “These animals are amazing and interacting with them is very special but the most important lesson I came to learn was that dolphins belong in the sea and not with people in a pool. My experience at Marineland caused a change in my life. I started to study the impact dolphins had on people with disabilities after they had met the dolphins in the wild and I saw that the results were generally amazing. My goal then became to make a difference in the lives of other people and, at the same time, follow my heart’s desire to work with wild dolphins.” Kim eventually set up an organisation to be
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“Scientists all over the world have tried to find out how the dolphins heal humans... but have not been able to provide any logical explanation”
able to offer people the opportunity to meet the dolphins. “I set up CWide (www.c-wide.net), arranging trips around the globe for wonderful encounters with these amazing creatures and decided to mainly focus on two destinations: Hawaii and the Bahamas. “Over the years I have had the opportunity to experience the fantastic healing and unconditional help these amazing creatures communicate, particularly to people with physical or learning disabilities. In the best case scenario these meetings can be life changing. “I am convinced that nobody leaves an encounter with a wild dolphin untouched. I am also sure that meeting dolphins in their own environment can teach us respect for nature and at the same time develop trusting relationships between people. “Scientists all over the world have tried to find out how the dolphins heal humans in the way they do but have not been able to provide any logical explanation. However, the scientists have had to admit that they do in a way that is almost miraculous. “You may read about cases where, after personal contact with wild dolphins, autistic children have suddenly developed new abilities such as speech and improved physical coordina-
GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • APRIL 2009