Everyone is Still Out of the Pool

Chiang Mai International Rotary Club (CMIRC)-Kru Payu Children’s Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Program (CWSDPP) 

Thai schools remained on summer break during the month of April (the hottest month here in Thailand). Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 pandemic, we now know that all municipal schools in Chiang Mai and Phrao will not be opening in May as they normally would. The Thai government has announced a target date of July 1 for the reopening of schools nationwide. All of our programs rely heavily on full cooperation from the municipal schools for scheduling and transportation to the pools. So, we will soon be working with school officials to schedule our programs for fourth graders at the eleven municipal school in Chiang Mai, two municipal schools in Phrao, and the Ban Ya Migrant Learning Centre in Phuket. Our swim teachers, pool owners, and CMIRC volunteer staff will do all in our power to work with school administrators to schedule survival swimming and water safety courses for at least 500 children in the revised 2020-2021 school year.

I should mention too that due to COVID-19, all of the pools are closed and our swim instructors cannot give lessons in what would have been their busiest season. These are difficult times of joblessness, poverty, and hunger for thousands in Chiang Mai. In spite of their own problems, our Chiang Mai-based team at Bronco Kids Sport Center along with Kru Payu and his swim instructors have organized a free food and meals program for the poor serving over 500 people each day! Some of our CMIRC members have also donated and helped to serve in this program too. See the story "Seeing Angels".

Once again this month we would like to recognize the people and organizations behind the success of our survival swim projects over the past five years. The logos you see below are the organizations that have recently supported our programs at the Chiang Mai Municipal Schools, municipal schools in Phrao, municipal schools in Phetchabun Province, the BanYa Migrant Learning Center in Phuket, and in partnership with the Warm Heart Foundation in Phrao.

We are also supported by the Thai Thaim Foundation of Park Rapids, Minnesota, USA and Rotarian Bob Ashley and of course all the generous donors to the Chiang Mai International Rotary Club.

We started this program in 2015 and we are still going strong and serving more children every year thanks to our wonderful sponsors and CMIRC volunteers!