There’s a silver lining to every dark cloud, and the dark cloud of the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 has had many silver linings. One of the positives to have come out of that catastrophe was a noble initiative to help traumatised children overcome their fear of water and learn to swim. Ever since the tsunami, a fear of the sea and of water prevails in many coastal communities.
Youngsters in Galle all set for a swimming class. Pix by Sanka Vidanagama |
This was origin of SwimLanka, the brainchild of Petronella and Tony Ballard, Athula Senanayake and Julian Bolling, who are also the trustees and founders of the swimming initiative.
The project started off with a garden pool in Tangalle, and has since developed into other related initiatives, such as the Confidence With Water programme conducted on the East Coast, in the districts of Ampara and Batticaloa. Fibreglass swimming pools have been set up in these areas so that traumatised children can gradually overcome their fear of water, and hopefully one day even go swimming in the sea.
Julian Bolling |
Phase Two of the Confidence With Water project began in July 2008 in Galle with the opening of a community-focused 25 metre swimming pool for children and adults in the Galle district. The pool is situated opposite the Lighthouse Hotel in Galle. The Lighthouse Community Pool came about through a partnership formed by AdoptSriLanka, SOS Velsen and Jetwing Lighthouse.
Learning to swim |
“To my knowledge, this is the first swimming pool in the country built specifically for a community,” says swim coach Jullian Bolling, whose involvement is through SwimLanka, who advises on both the swimming and pool structuring aspects. The pool has three resident swim coaches, who come to Colombo every month to enhance their coaching and teaching skills at the Rainbow Swimming Academy, which operates at the NCC Swimming Pool.
“Swimming is a gift for life, and it is a life-saving skill that helps build confidence,” says Bolling. “It is fitting that these kids be given a chance to acquire this all-important skill. It’s a pity the pool is not utilised during the day, partly because swimming is not part of the school curriculum. This aspect needs looking into.”
Geoffrey Dobbs’ involvement with the Lighthouse Community Poolpool is through AdoptSriLanka. Dobbs is the founder of the programme, which was set up just days after the tsunami struck. “When I mooted the idea, people said I was crazy ” Dobbs says. “We’ve come a long way since, but there’s still a lot more to be done.”
Geoffrey Dobbs |
According to Dobbs, most of those involved are volunteers, which is one reason the programme has not expanded as rapidly as the founders had hoped. Still, much has been achieved.
The pool is now in its second year. We hope to be self-sustaining after five years, which is what any charity should be doing.”
Free swimming classes for children are held Tuesday to Friday, between 2pm and 4pm. Classes of 45 minutes duration are held for groups of 10 children, including toddlers. T he children first gain confidence in the water and they are than taught all four swim strokes. Classes are graded from levels one to three. Levels four and five are for perfecting technique. These swimming classes are available to the community.
Private swimming classes are also available, for a small fee that goes towards maintenance of the pool. Adults may use the pool on weekends. Coaching camps are held in August and December.
Meanwhile, parents are delighted that their children are learning to swim – and in the proper way. “Our children knew nothing about swimming before they started these classes,” one parent said. Another happy parent said: “I have noticed a big improvement in the children’s swimming in the past six days. They are a lot more confident in the water. We don’t mind paying for swimming lessons once they reach a higher level. We hope our children will be able to swim for their schools.”
Jullian Bolling says the swimming coaches also know how to maintain a swimming pool. “They can play a dual role,” he says. “This is a big bonus, because we don’t have the extra cost of hiring staff to maintain the pools.”
Tony Ballard, one of the patrons of SwimLanka, says: “I do believe we have something really good going here.
Tony Ballard |
Future initiatives would include looking inland. The country has plenty of water resources to teach swimming to rural communities. “We want to promote swimming throughout the country,” says Ballard. “This is good not just in terms of advancing a sport, it is also good in terms of health and community development.
The big plan is to build 25 metre pools in every district. “This is our dream,” says Ballard. “We want the the people of our little island nation to have an important survival and exercise skill, and even take part in competitions, perhaps at national and international level.
“In areas like Galle, there are individuals who have gained this skill. Through these pockets of skilled pers, we can expand outward and build up an island spirit for swimming .”
For more information about free swimming classes and the Lighthouse Community Pool, go to:
swimlanka@gmail.com |
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