No more fear of drowning during summer

“Now I can swim and prepare myself for the flood season,” said Nguyen Vu Phuc Anh, a 7th-grader, about the importance of swimming classes for pupils organized by World Vision Vietnam’s Hai Phong City Resilient to Climate Change and Disaster Risks (HRCD), district Education Office and four schools in Ngo Quyen district, Hai Phong City.  

Such classes aim to equip children with skills of self-protection while providing them with a playground in the summer.

There have been more than 200 students, most of whom are living in difficulty near Cam river (May Chai ward) and Kim Hai river (Van My ward), participating in swimming classes since summer began.

“Up to date, all students can swim and almost all passed today’s examination,” shared swimming teacher Nguyen Van Son.

End-of-class swimming examination

“We hope the project will continue to collaborate with us in organizing more swimming classes as the risk of drowning still exists in riverside wards of May Chai and Van My,” shared Tran Thi Hoa, local education officer.

In the coming time, HRCD project will promote more swimming activities in order to  better protect children from injuries in flood season.

In Vietnam, between mid-April and June 2016, about 20 children died from drowning due to the lack of swimming skills and summertime playground.

Text and photos by Phan Van Kien, HRCD Project Officer, World Vision Vietnam