In order to prevent drowning-related accidents among children, many free swimming classes have been opened in Da Nang during the summer, aimed at helping local children improve their swimming skills and ensuring their safety in the water.

Schools are promoting free swimming lessons during the summer to improve children's safe swimming skills. IN PHOTO: Teacher and pupils of the Huynh Ngoc Hue Primary School practice safe swimming skills. Photo: L.P

Free swimming classes

Since the beginning of June 2024, the swimming class at the Huynh Ngoc Hue Primary School has been open to pupils free-of-charge at 6:00 am daily.

Swimming teacher Luu Van Thuong said that the class starts at 6:00 am and ends at 4:00 pm every day. Each class has a maximum of 12 pupils, taught by 2 teachers. In each 45-minute class, children learn water safety, swimming and back floating skills.

According to Mr. Thuong, the swimming class is free, and all children need are to bring such personal items as swimming caps, costumes, goggles, and towels.

Hoang Minh Thuan, a pupil of grade 5/2 at the Huynh Ngoc Hue Primary School, mastered safe swimming skills and floated in the water after participating in the swimming class. Meanwhile, Truong Quoc An, a pupil of grade 5/4, is no longer afraid of water, and he is now confident in swimming.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, Mistress of the Huynh Ngoc Hue Primary School, said that since the safe swimming programme for primary school pupils sponsored by the Alliance for Safe Children (TASC) ended in 2013, the school has maintained free swimming classes for its pupils.

The free swimming class is open to not only the school’s pupils but also all primary school-age children in need. During the summer vacation of 2024, 480 pupils participated in free swimming classes at the school.

“The free swimming programme has received positive feedback from parents and pupils, as shown by the increasing number of pupils registering for swimming classes. This has helped raise awareness and responsibility of parents and their children in preventing accidents and injuries among children, particularly drowning; as well as promote the movement of physical exercise to improve health and protect themselves in the community” Mrs. Huong said.

According to the Office of Education and Training of Thanh Khe District, during the summer vacation of 2024, 9 primary schools across the district organise free swimming classes for more than 3,490 children. They are Huynh Ngoc Hue, Dinh Bo Linh, Nguyen Binh Khiem, Le Van Tam, Be Van Dan, Ha Huy Tap, Tran Cao Van, Dung Si Thanh Khe and Phan Dinh Phung.

Similarly, the Office of Education and Training of Hoa Vang District asks 19 primary schools and 9 junior high schools in the district to assign teachers to teach swimming.

Accordingly, swimming teachers continue to provide swimming lessons and skills for children. Meanwhile, the schools also repair facilities at the swimming pool and install surveillance cameras to ensure safety of swimming learners.

Strengthening propaganda and raising awareness

Aside from schools, the Da Nang Youth Union has developed a plan to prevent drowning accidents among children in the city in 2024.

Since mid-June 2024, the city’s Youth Activity Centre has coordinated with the DAT Swimming Company Limited to organise a free training course on "How to handle situations when falling into water" for children aged 4-15. The training course provided the young participants with skills to save people from drowning while still keeping their safe, and self-rescue skills when falling into water.

Similarly, the Youth Union organisation of Hoa Hai Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District, has just organised a training course on preventing and combating drowning-related accidents and first aid skills for nearly 200 young people and children. The event equipped children and students with necessary knowledge and skills to prevent drowning.

In order to strengthen the work of preventing drowning among children, on June 18, the municipal Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs issued an official dispatch requesting departments, branches, associations, and district-level authorities to continue to effectively implement the plan on preventing accidents and injuries among children for the 2021-2030 period.

Accordingly, communication campaigns to raise public awareness of drowning accidents and how to prevent drowning accidents among children are step up on social networks. The focus is on mobilising families to regularly care, monitor and remind children about the risks of accidents, injuries and drowning to ensure children's safety, especially during the summer vacation.

Reporting by LAM PHUONG - Translating by M.DUNG