The Saldanha Bay Municipality (SBM), in partnership with the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), hosted the institute’s Survival Swimming Programme at the South African Naval Base in Saldanha on Thursday 14 March.
This is the second event hosted by the NSRI in the Saldanha Bay municipal area and ideally fits into the Saldanha Bay Safety Initiative’s (SBSI) objective, of achieving an overall safer Easter festive season. Other role-players at the event were, among others, the Western Cape Education Department, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Disaster Management volunteers and interns.
The Survival Swimming Programme is geared towards youth and adults in under-resourced areas, imparting invaluable life skills. It teaches the very basics of breath control, orientation, floating and moving through water.
Eight local schools participated in the event, namely St Andrews Primary School, Masiphathisane Primary School, Hopefield Primary School, Steenberg’s Cove Primary School, Vredenburg High School, New Vredenburg High School, Weskus School and EJ Malgarte Primary School.
Ethne Lawrence, spokesperson of SBM, said through this journey with the NSRI, the municipality envisages continuing a two-cycle project on an annual basis, one before the December festive season and another before Easter.
