The tsunami which struck the coastal areas of Sri Lanka left a trail of devastation. The waves didn’t spare anyone or anything that fateful day — December 26, 2004.
The worst affected were said to be women and children, especially those living on the North and East of the island. Everyone, but particularly children, who were eye witnesses to the devastation experienced deep, potentially life-long trauma.
This was where the charitable trust SwimLanka came in. Begun by a group of Sri Lankans and expatriates in Sri Lanka comprising Petronella and Tony Ballard, Athula Senanayake and Julian Bolling the trustees and founders. It was based on the recognition that the trauma experienced by so many children needed to be treated and healed.
One way to do this, they decided, was to meet the need for children all over the island to learn simple survival skills, such as swimming, so they could save their own lives and possibly others if another tsunami struck.
After a few sessions of brainstorming aided by the help of a garden pool provided by Mr. Bolling, the SwimLanka programme was launched in Tangalle with just three coaches in February 2005. Since then, 16,000 children have graduated from the ‘Confidence with Water’ classes, and the charity has created 27 pools in eight out of the 10 districts affected by the tsunami.
In January, SwimLanka expanded through a partnership with Terre des hommes (TDH) and began giving courses in the East with Justin Packman being in charge of the activities for SwimLanka. Throughout the Batticaloa and Ampara Districts, they’ve built temporary, three foot deep, fiber-glass pools where both boys and girls can learn water skills. The courses are six to eight weeks long and involve fun activities that help move them through three stages of learning: Familiarisation with water, floating, and movement.
In Muslim communities, special arrangements were made to promote the participation of young girls; fences around the pools prevent outsiders from watching and mothers are encouraged to attend the classes.
“Before the tsunami, the beach was their playground but that is not to be anymore,” said Reinhard Fichtl, Country Director, TDH, adding that because people fear another tsunami, children and families stay away from the seaside as much as possible. The temporary, fiberglass pools in the East will be moved only when every child in the community between the ages of six and 12 years has learnt the basic skills required for swimming and survival in the water.
On January 19, 2009, around 100 children participated in the opening ceremony for the East. “Initially it is just about getting them comfortable with the water, trusting the instructor and the pool, said Lawrence Souloumiac, Psycho Social Project Coordinator, TDH. “Then it’s about introducing buoyancy and giving them confidence. And hopefully, eventually, swimming.”
By creating a safe space focused entirely on water skills, everyday divisions among the children such as gender, class, economic position or disabilities become less important. “We are not scared of the sea and will go swimming in the sea even after the lessons are over and when we graduate,” the kids in Kallady said. They went on to say that the lessons have helped them a great deal to get over their fear of the water and would appreciate if a larger pool was built for them. “The tsunami can come at any time and learning swimming and the techniques will help us survive,” they said.
Indeed, it was moving to watch so many children come together to celebrate their achievement. In spite of all their little eyes had seen and how much they had witnessed, in their short lives, it was clear that their hearts and minds were rich.
“It’s a unique project that’s not happened anywhere else in terms of the trauma factor,” says Mr. Bolling, adding that ‘Swimming is a gift for life,’ – the tagline of Swim Australia and in his opinion, swimming skills are the best gift a parent can give a child.
Anyone interested in opportunities to help SwimLanka can log on to their website www.swimlanka.lk or mail them at swimlankaproject@gmail.com |
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