Water Safety Campaign to save lives in rural areas

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Following the successful launch of the water safety awareness campaign during the 2016 Festive Season, the KZN Department of Sport and Recreation is rolling out the awareness drive to different areas around the Province.

The campaign was launched in December last year by MEC for Arts, Culture, Sport and Recreation, Bongi Sithole-Moloi, who emphasised the importance of teaching communities about water safety in order to curb drownings in the Province. KZN has the highest number of drownings in the country. Lack of information about water safety and survival swimming skills contributes to the drownings.

As part of the campaign the Department’s Umgungundlovu District in partnership with iMpendle Local Municipality, on Tuesday, 24 January, conducted an awareness campaign with children from the Glen Primary School which is located in deep rural part of Impendle. Children from the area cross rivers on their way to school on a daily basis, which exposes them to dangers of drowning.

This project will be focusing on training school children, community leaders, NGOs that are mainly based in the rural areas, parents and educators.

The principal of Glen Primary School Mrs Mabongi Mwelase applauded this initiative which was brought to her school as she believes that it will be very helpful to her children who cross rivers on daily basis to get to school.

“I believe this water safety campaign done today will bring a lot of change to my kids in regards with water safety. It has enabled them to be aware of the dangers and risks of being around water as well as how to react when they find themselves in life threating situations in order to survive. But most of all I think if these kinds of campaigns are done regularly in schools and communities the drowning rate of people would plummet very fast,” she commented.

The Glen Primary School leaners were advised to never forget the skills and information they learned on the day about water safety as they would need them sometime in their lives and they should pass the information to other people at home.

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