This year our Grade 8 students, the High School Swim For Life Service Learning Group, and the organisation Hue Help collaborated on a long-term project to teach water safety and prevent drownings in the Hoa Binh area.

The work started with building a partnership with Trung Thanh Primary and Secondary school and working to develop a swim safety learning hub for all schools in the area. Our school raised funds to build a swimming pool at Trung Thanh Secondary School. Once the pool construction was complete, our Grade 8 students spent the week working with students at the school during their Trip Week. They designed inaugural activities for students to build confidence and safety habits when playing in and around water. These activities included water sponge fun, slip and slide, some dry games, and swimming safely in waist-deep water. This was an incredible experience for students at both schools to learn more about each other and build excitement about the programme.

Hue Help, our partner organisation offering swim safety and drown prevention training to teachers and communities, continued the work with the next visit. PE teachers from schools across Hoa Binh participated in the week-long training at Trung Thanh school. They are now ready to train their students and other teachers. 

This work will continue on with the support of our Swim For Life service learning group who, in addition to their weekly sessions on campus, are planning weekend trips to Trung Thanh to continue teaching students swim safety and drawn prevention. A select group of Grade 8 students will have the opportunity to join this work with the High School group, as well as other opportunities in partnership with Trung Thanh schools.

Thanks to everyone for making this happen! If you’d like to read more about this in Vietnamese, please have a look at this article on the Da Bac DOET (Department of Education and Training) site.