As we conclude another successful year of survival swim and water safety instruction, we are delighted to share our achievements in three locations: Chiang Mai, Phrao, and Phuket. Celebrating our 8th year, we have been dedicated to teaching children how to stay safe in and around water, with a particular focus on addressing the alarming rates of drowning, the leading cause of death for children aged 1 to 14 in Thailand. With over 1,000 children drowning each year and only 20-25% of Thai children able to swim, our program strives to raise awareness and reduce the risk of drowning, especially among underserved communities.
Chiang Mai Program
Our Chiang Mai program, the flagship initiative, continues to thrive, thanks to the unwavering support of the Municipal Schools of Chiang Mai. We extend our gratitude to them for their continuous endorsement. In collaboration with the Rotary Club Seattle 4, Richard Murray, and the Rotary Club Chiang Mai Wattana, we successfully funded this year's classes. A special mention goes to the Bronco Kids Sport Club and Kru Payu Swim for their steadfast partnership since the program's inception.
This year, we imparted our 15-hour survival swimming and water safety course to 370 4th-graders, achieving an impressive 85% success rate in the final swim skill tests.
Phrao Expansion
Expanding our reach to Phrao, a small city north of Chiang Mai, became possible through the support of the Warm Heart Foundation. The dedicated swim instructor team trained by Kru Payu and the assistance of Khun Muang-In at Chok Aree Pool contributed significantly to the success of the program. We are grateful an anonymous donor who has consistently fully funded our Phrao program over the past two years.
This year, we extended our program to 14 Phrao elementary schools, teaching swimming and water safety to 330 4th-graders, with an outstanding 95% successfully completing the final swim skills tests.
Banya Migrant Learning Centre, Phuket
After five years of teaching survival swimming and water safety to children at the Banya Migrant Learning Centre, we announce that this year marks the conclusion of our management of the program. The Rotary Club of Patong Beach has graciously offered to sponsor and administer the program in the future. Our heartfelt thanks go to donor Robert Ashley for fully funding this program over the past three years.
Acknowledgments and Recognition
Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to the organizations and individuals who have been instrumental in building our program over the past eight years:
CMIRC Children’s Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Team and Sponsors
Rotary Club of Chiang Mai-Wattana
Rotary Club of Patong Beach
Thai Thaim Foundation
Special thanks to individual donors Richard Murray, Robert Ashley, and an anonymous donor. Our heartfelt appreciate goes to Ian Bushell for this continued support. If you wish to contribute or get involved, contact Project Champion John Schorr at watersafety@cmirotary.org for more information.
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