Multicultural children dive into Swim and Survive at Cannington

Dozens of children in the Cannington area are enjoying a Swim and Survive swimming and water safety program at Cannington Leisureplex this term, thanks to a partnership between Communicare and Royal Life Saving WA.

The 32 children are aged from four to 12 and come from a range of multicultural backgrounds. Communicare assisted Royal Life Saving WA in engaging these children to take part in the program, as they were at-risk of missing out on learning these vital swimming and water safety skills.

The children are enjoying one swimming lesson each week over the ten weeks of Term Three, taught by qualified and experienced instructors. The program is crucial in enabling the children to develop water safety skills and confidence ahead of the spring and summer months.

A review of drowning statistics over the past ten years shows that in WA 40% of drowning deaths involved people who were born overseas. Migrants also record lower participation in swimming and water safety programs after arriving in Australia due to cultural, personal and financial reasons.

The current program at Cannington is part of our Access and Equity Swim and Survive program, supported by BHP and the Department of Home Affairs, which aims to break down these barriers to participation by providing subsidised, culturally appropriate water safety education for at-risk groups.

Royal Life Saving WA works year-round to engage multicultural groups across metro and regional WA in Swim and Survive programs. If you’d like to find out more about the work we are doing to engage multicultural communities in water safety education, or if your community group would like to get involved, please click the link below.