CHILDREN'S WATER SAFETY
According to the Thai Ministry of Health, more than 1,300 Thai children drown each year. In 2015, the Chiang Mai International Rotary Club (CMIRC) decided to address this problem as part of the club’s principal service focus: “Protecting Children.” The Children’s Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Program has one goal: to reduce children’s drowning deaths - first in Chiang Mai, and then in all of Thailand.
To accomplish this goal, we’ve identified instructors, developed a curriculum, planned an ideal instructional schedule, located the most appropriate participants, built partnerships with municipal officials working with poor children, and explored funding strategies. We began the full implementation of the drowning prevention program in Chiang Mai public schools in August 2016. Since then, we have taught all 4th graders in all 11 municipal public schools - a total of almost 400 children per year.
We have perfected the curriculum and carefully planned the budget so that we now can provide each child all the swim equipment (swimsuits, swim caps, goggles, towels) he or she needs and 15 hours of swim instruction by Kru Payu Swim instructors at Bronco Kids Sports Center.
CMIRC’s goal is to continue the program for the foreseeable future so that every public-school graduate in Chiang Mai public schools will have learned survival swimming skills.
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