It’s been a month since we got back from Sudan and it feels like much longer. Life quickly catches up with you after a trip away and all too soon you are back in the day to day routine and it almost feels like you never left.
There is one significant difference though. Every few days over the last month, pictures have been popping up on my Facebook account that make me smile all day long. These pictures have been posted by the Nile Swimmers in Sudan who we taught in March. Now they are out in their communities passing on vital water safety messages.
I have seen mothers being taught these messages whilst their children take part in Scout activities. I have seen youngsters taking time out of their Arabic and Quran lessons to learn about water safety. I have seen a whole community gathered together in a local hall to make sure everyone in their village knows how to stay safe in and around the water. In the past four weeks, the participants from March’s Nile Swimmers programme in Khartoum have trained over 1750 children.
It is through stories like this that you begin to understand the true impact of March’s programme. It is not about teaching 36 programme participants. It is about the thousands of children that those participants go on to teach. And this month is just the start. All of these projects are in their first stages.
In the next stage, programme participants will go on to teach new trainers, who will in turn go on to teach thousands more children. With this cascade of knowledge, tens of thousands of children will be taught life-saving water safety messages before the end of the year. That’s powerful stuff and a huge credit to the hard work of all the Nile Swimmers in Sudan. It’s no wonder those pictures make me smile
Tony Toriglia says
As a long time volunteer of the Royal Lifesaving Society of Canada I am very impressed with the progress of the Nile Swimmers project! I have been following your progress on your FB page over the past year. It is apparent that the ripple effect of this project has and will continue to save lives. Water Safety education and lifesaving /swimming skills is the pathway to reducing drowning tragities globally. You are all leading examples to the rest of the world that we can each make a difference in reducing the loss of life from drowning in our own communities.
The aquatic skills and knowledge provided by the efforts of the Nile Swimmer project is an education no child on our planet can live without.
“Well done and I wish you future success!”
Tony Toriglia
Royal Lifesaving Society
Commonwealth Life Member
Canada
Dan Graham says
Tony, we are humbled and honoured by your kind words. We have an enormous job to do, and we need all the help we can get. Thank you so much for your support, we really appreciate your comments.
Mai Abdelmoniem says
Good day
Does your programmers offer any swimming activities for young kids? I know you teach participants who in turn teach kids but I would like to know of your program extends to swimming courses for young children between the ages of 8-11
Dan Graham says
Hello Mai.
The Nile Swimmers programme does not currently have a learn-to-swim programme for children in Sudan. However, many of our Nile Swimmers instructors in Sudan are also swimming coaches. I am sure that they will be able to help you. I suggest that you contact us by sending an e-mail to info@nileswimmers.org and then we can send you the telephone numbers of our Nile Swimmers managers in Sudan.
You may know one of them already – https://www.nileswimmers.org/who-we-are/local-team-sudan/