The Anguilla Red Cross, as part of its Disaster Risk Reduction Programme conducted a Water safety Training course in Anguilla from 28th March – 2nd April 2013.
11 adults and 6 students attended this 6 day Water Safety Course hosted by the Anguilla Red Cross and delivered by Wellington Lawrence of St. Lucia Red Cross and Trevor Seaton of the St Kitts Red Cross. The adults all graduated and will be able to teach water safety at the basic levels and one of the students graduated as a junior instructor.
The participants are now able to teach others how to:
• Recognise a tired swimmer or drowning person and rescue them from land or by swimming to them in the water.
• Know how to survive in the water for a lengthy period if they ever fell overboard or their boat sank.
• Avoid risky water situations
• Understand self-rescue techniques; treading water and drown proofing.
• Swim front crawl, back stroke and breast stroke with and good techniques
The water safety programme will be a community based programme targeting vulnerable groups including those who may have a fear of the water. General information will be distributed by leaflets and talks to service organisations as well as teaching in the schools.
The Anguilla Red Cross will continue to develop the water safety programme by training and developing water safety instructors and establishing the programme at reduced cost for participants.
The certificates were presented to the participants by Dr. Bonnie Richardson Lake, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Development.
The Disaster Risk Reduction programme is funded by DfID and the British Red Cross.
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
