Drowning is one of the major causes of death worldwide with over 2.5 million deaths reported in the last decade, according to statistics compiled by the World Health Organization. To raise global awareness of the loss of life, the UN General Assembly Resolution of April 2021 set July 25 as the annual World Drowning Prevention Day.
Globally, children aged 1-4 years are the group with the highest drowning rates, followed by youngsters aged 5-9 years.
This sad loss of life has also been observed in Thailand, with the Public Health Ministry reporting that in the past 10 years, drowning caused 35,915 deaths, or an average of 10 deaths per day. Of this number, 7,374 or at least two per day are children. Alarmingly, the number of deaths rose significantly during the COVID pandemic.
WHO continues to raise awareness about drowning. The key message couldn’t be clearer: Anyone can drown, but no one should.
To mark World Drowning Prevention Day, Sondee School, a small primary school in Ayutthaya, with support from the Sod-Nian Kurmarohita Foundation and the Thai Life Saving Society recently held a three-day activity to teach its young students the basics of swimming.
“Who wants to swim today?” Nipaporn Champangarm, Sondee School’s headmaster, asked the small boys and girls during their morning exercise routine. Hands were quickly raised and the kids started jumping up and down, talking loudly as they showed their excitement.
Located in Ayutthaya province which is surrounded by three major rivers – the Chao Phrays, Pasak and Lopburi – the school floods every year. Sometimes, the water rises to the second floor. And that means a higher risk of drowning for everyone.
Dissara Kurmarohita, the representative from the Sod-Nian Kurmarohita Foundation who initiated this training program at Sondee School, told the students, “I am a swimmer and I know how important it is. Swimming is fun and makes you healthy and strong. More importantly, swimming can save your life.”
Two temporary swimming pools were set up in the school’s multi-purpose area and filled with light brown well water. The coaching team let the water sit overnight and used special equipment to remove sedimentation and also added some substances to clean and sanitize the water. After several checks, the coaches were satisfied that the water was clean and met health standards, and the training started.
NIramol Sangboonyanithi from Thai Life Saving Society
Rather than getting the kids right into the water, the coaches taught the kids some basics about saving lives – basic CPR and calling for help.
Instruction was made simple and easy to remember through a song. In a few minutes, every student could sing and remember the life-saving steps.
“Hey, hey, hey, shout out loudly
Can someone call 1669?
There is an unconscious patient here.
Pump, pump, pump… 30 pumps and two blows
Repeat 5 times
Check if the person is alive or dead
If not breathing, repeat it all again
Pump, pump, pump… 30 pumps and two blows
Repeat 5 times
Check if the person is alive or dead
If breathing, the person is saved!”
Niramol Sangboonyanithi, a committee member of the Thai Life Saving Society and a swimming coach, said that for young kids, playing was a great way to learn. Playing and singing songs are always effective ice-breakers and help the children trust the coaches.
After singing the song and learning what to do if someone was drowning, it was time to get wet.
“With kids of this age, we teach them the basics. The objective is to let them familiarize themselves with the water, know what to do when they are in the water, and, most importantly, not to panic while waiting for help,” said Niramol.
A group of 10 children got into the pool at the same time, under the supervision of one coach inside the pool, and two outside. Putting their hands on the shoulders of their friend in front, the kids waded through the water and imagined they were a train. Then the coach picked up a floating noodle and bent it into a bridge for them to go under. The bridge was lowered with every pass until the kids had to duck underwater to get through.
Some children were surprised when they discovered that diving was easy and it showed on their faces. Some were still uncomfortable but they all had fun.
Step by step, the kids learned that getting into the water was nothing to worry about and started to know what to do. In just two hours, most of them could float and were less afraid.
“Everyone can swim. It might be a bit difficult for some in the beginning, but in the end everyone can swim,” confirmed Tony or Mongkhon Chorsuwan, another swimming coach and a committee member of the Thai Life Saving Society.
To him, teaching kids to swim is not just a one-off activity. It is, in fact, a lifetime friendship and life-saving skills. Many of his students still call him from time to time for a chat.
“The other day, one of my young students called me and told me how he saved his cousin from choking, using one of the techniques he learned from me. He was very proud and I was very happy too,” said Tony.
The activity at Sondee School is just one attempt to lower the risk of drowning. The 1,000-plus coaches with the Thai Life Saving Society’s work all over the country to teach people to swim because they know anyone can drown, but no one should.
By Thai PBS World Feature Desk
Photo by Kanokchan Patanapichai
