Royal Life Saving staff with Dr Jagadish Krishnan MLA (centre)
Culture and community come together for Diwali Mela 2023
Royal Life Saving WA, in partnership with the Indian Society of WA, recently attended the Diwali Mela festival at Langley Park.
The two-day event celebrated Indian culture, community and customs through sharing stories, cuisine, art, music and clothing.
The festival symbolises the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance and is traditionally held around mid-September to mid-November with celebrations normally lasting between five to six days.
As part of our multicultural swimming and water safety strategy, we are aiming to reach more communities to share the importance of water safety as well as educating ourselves about the cultures of the communities we are working with.
Attending these community events allows us to connect with people in a more authentic way, especially through the help of those such as our Swim and Survive Access and Equity Ambassador Dr Jags Krishnan MLA.
For Dr Krishnan, having grown up in India's mountainous region where tea is grown, he knows that access to aquatic spaces in these areas is not always easy – unlike living in Australia, where the water is on our front doorstep.
"Exposure to water is so minimal for a lot of migrants, which is why it’s so important that they learn that life skill here," says Dr Krishnan.
“We know that once parents have the skills, they can pass them onto their children, and advocate for them to be involved in swimming and water-based activities.”
Through greater education, understanding sensitivities such as cultural and religious beliefs, the need to wear specific clothing and separating various abilities and genders during lessons are now making it more accessible for participants to take part in more programs.
Royal Life Saving WA runs multicultural programs for adults and children for all stages, with options for men's and women's only lessons. The programs aim to address and overcome the cultural barriers which can make participating in aquatic activities a daunting and uncomfortable experience for participants.
To learn more about our Access and Equity program, click the link below.
