On Tuesday June 14th, the Anguilla Red Cross in collaboration with Soroptomist Anguilla and the Ministry of Social Development certified eight participants who completed training in Swimming and Water Safety.
The Water Safety Training was funded by the British Red Cross, and Anguilla Red Cross through its Disaster Risk Reduction Programme. Stakeholders – in the collaborative effort to have “An Island Where Everyone Can Swim” through the Water Safety and Swimming Programme – recognized the need for certified trainers.
Director of Aquatics and Safety from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Bonnie Griswold, delivered the intense training to the eight participants. She expressed her delight for the opportunity to visit Anguilla and aid in the strengthening of the Red Cross’ resources. She said: “Willing to take on something new, my husband and I thought this would be a great adventure. I thought it was phenomenal to have that goal down the road to teach children how to swim and be safer”.
The training was very comprehensive and covered how to train a wide range of age groups from infants to adults. Participants were given a test which they needed to pass with an accumulative score of at least 80 percent. Mrs. Griswold observed further: “I’ve been teaching mostly on the college level and this class here in Anguilla did better than most of my college students on that written test, so that tells me how motivated they were to get this certification”. The training spanned four days of intense work. Mrs. Griswold, who is also a volunteer with the American Red Cross, said during her visit to Anguilla she found true friends.
Branch Chair of the Anguilla Red Cross, Jennyville Smith, said: “I am happy that we have taken another step in this initiative. I believe that everyone should learn how to swim”. She highlighted that living on an island surrounded by water makes us vulnerable to any form of threats and seismic activities that can occur in the ocean, and that it was “very important for all of us to learn how to swim or to know the basic skills of water safety”.
Permanent Secretary for the Education, Sports and Youth and Culture, Mrs. Chanelle Petty-Barrett, also delivered some remarks. She applauded the participants for accepting the challenge to become certified trainers despite their skill level. She said: “I am very pleased that we are actually taking this particular step to keep ourselves and our families safe. I want to assure you of the support of the Ministry and Department of Education. We are fully onboard with this programme; we see the tremendous value it can bring to our students and island as a whole. We believe that once we train swimmers from a young age they in turn will ensure their children and generations to come, can swim”.
Mr. Keith Robinson, who completed the training, will now serve in the role as Events First Aid Manager. He thanked the Griswolds for their assistance with the programme and hopes that, as a trainer, he and the rest of the trainers can professionally train other persons to swim.
A pilot project aimed at training children to swim will be undertaken at the Adrian T Hazell Primary School. It will commence at the beginning of the next school year.
