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All it took to dramatically change the trajectory of Maria Santamaria’s life was a short presentation about human trafficking at Miami’s Calvary Church in Southwest Miami-Dade County.
Today, thanks to the inspiration and leadership of Maria and her church Pastor Alex Sagot and his wife Diana, there is a non-profit organization called Embrace House whose volunteers guide, mentor and assist young women who are victims of human trafficking. Since 2012 Embrace has helped dozens of young women assimilate back into society.
As important as Embrace’s work is, the spotlight at the moment is on retired Miami-Dade Police Major Jim “Dibo” DiBernardo, who will join more than 700 other athletes in the annual Alcatraz Open Swim from the historic prison to the shores of San Francisco on Sunday, August 31st to raise money for Embrace.
Although the straight-line distance is just over a mile, Dibo will need to swim twice that distance to avoid the strong ocean current. He will also face challenging obstacles such as a waves, packs of playful seals and 59-degree water, which is cold enough to bring on hypothermia.
The swim will mark the second time Dibo has made the crossing. Forty years ago, when he was 30 years old, he participated in an event called Escape from Alcatraz. This time, he vows to wear a wetsuit.
“I’ve competed in triathlons and keep myself in shape by swimming 10 hours a week, lifting weights and practicing yoga,” says Dibo. “I’ve always wanted to go back and swim Alcatraz. When Maria asked me if I would consider doing it to help raise money for Embrace, I told her I would love to help. I’ll be spending a week swimming in cold streams in Vermont before the race to acclimate myself to cold water again.”
Maria was Dibo’s colleague at the Miami-Dade Police Department for 29 years until his retirement.
“Dibo’s goal is to raise $50,000 from donors before the swim on August 31st,” says Maria. “We have a Donor Box Page where people can make a tax-exempt donation to Embrace. We’re about a quarter of the way there so we really hope the community will help us. One hundred percent of donations to goes to the care of these victims. Everyone at Embrace is a volunteer.”
Dibo seems excited about the upcoming cold water challenge.
“I really want Embrace to be successful because human trafficking is a huge problem happening right here in South Florida. We’re trying to raise some money and help Maria and her team continue the good work they do. As far as the swim goes, let’s see what this old guy can do.”
For more information about human trafficking, Maria and Dibo recommend watching the movies entitled “Sound of Freedom” and “City of Dreams.” More information about the Alcatraz swim can be found at https://donorbox.org/embrace-the-race.
