Making a difference for regional children
Children in Warmun have received two weeks of Swim and Survive lessons, with a qualified swim instructor from Perth visiting the remote Aboriginal community.
Royal Life Saving Society WA flew Adele Caporn up to the community to conduct lessons with children from the Warmun School and the nearby Frog Hollows School, to ensure the children have the opportunity to learn vital swimming and water safety skills.
Adele spent a few years working at our Fitzroy Crossing Remote Aboriginal Swimming Pool so has a good understanding of regional communities and the unique challenges they face. She says children in Warmun have previously not had access to formalised swimming lessons, so she was more than happy to share her skills.
For Adele the biggest concern for these children is the annual wet season; "When those rivers start to rise the kids just want to head down there and play. You see kids who are 3, 4, 5 years old playing in the rivers and often there are no parents around. It's so important they learn survival skills. I always include those in my lessons because its vital they know what to do if they themselves or one of their friends gets in trouble."
About 30 children aged from pre-primary through to year 6 have attended the swimming pool each day, and according to the Remote Aboriginal Swimming Pool Manager at Warmun, Jamie O'Donohue, Adele has been awesome with the kids who have really loved attending the classes with her.
Adele was even invited to the school assembly at Warmun this morning, and was given a picture one of the children had drawn for her. "These kids are awesome and its so good to see how far they've come. I'd love to see these lessons continue long term for these children."
Adele hopes to leave a legacy in the community and has also shared her swim instructor skills with the local school teachers.
You can find out more about our Remote Aboriginal Swimming Pool project below.
