2012 The Adventure Continues


Well here goes for another year.  I am leaving for Vietnam on Sunday 29 April to help Swim Vietnam and Golden Turtles Swim Club continue their fantastic work with teaching swimming.  I am really looking forward to returning and to see all the changes that have been made since last year.  Swim Vietnam has two new swim venues outside of Hoi An which have demountable pools set up so this will be really interesting to see in action.  Will keep you updated and please follow me as the adventure continues.

Yours swimmingly

Tanya Carmont
President, Water Skills for Life
www.waterskillsforlife.org.au

2011 My Adventure Continues

This year I returned to Hoi An once again for 6 weeks to help in the program. I had a great time firstly as Swim Vietnam were presenting at the World Conference on Drowning Prevention which was very exciting as I was one of three presenters for Swim Vietnam speaking on my volunteer experience and what I have done for the program since. We made great contacts with other like programs around the world and with organisations like Surf Lifesaving Australia, Royal Lifesaving Aus and Austswim and Swim Australia.

After the conference I then started in the program teaching the children and assisting the teachers in the pool, developing training sessions for the 15 employed Vietnamese teachers which I presented at a dedicated training day with a theory and practical sessions on Floating and Adult swim program development. I also and provided administration assistance to the Swim Program Director Jo Stewart. I was kept very busy and it was so rewarding to be able to help in anyway I could.

Back in Australia I have gathered my Water Skills for Life Committee and we are looking at holding several events in the next 12 months to help raise funds for the Swim Vietnam Program and provide assistance to other volunteer programs here in Australia.

Until next time…why not give a skill for life to save a life..

Tanya
President
Water Skills for Life
www.waterskillsforlife.org.au

Water Skills for Life is Born

To help the Swim Vietnam Program I came back to Australia to raise awareness and provide funding for the program. And this is where my fun really began. I was fully of enthusiasm and got quickly started on securing prizes for a fund raising event when whamo! One of my dear friends asked if I have a permit to fundraise? Well no I didn’t and then the work ahead was mountainous.

I set up our association and registered it through Dept of Fair Trading then applied for a fundraising permit to allow us to fundraise. We finally had permission grant on 5 April 2011. Since the formation of the association we have decided on three main projects. These are Swim Vietnam, Tibetan Community Swim Program and Learn to Swim program at the local rock pools on the peninsula.

Until next time…why not give a skill for life to save a life..

Tanya
President
Water Skills for Life

The Beginning of My Journey

In July 2009, I applied to volunteer as a swim instructor with Swim Vietnam. The program is run by Joanne Stewart and is supported by Tribob Triathalon Club in Singapore. In December of 2009 I was accepted into the program and that’s where the fun began.

I spent 2 months in Hoi An during May and June of 2010 and taught around 160 children. The program in 2010 has taught over 700 children to swim with a main focus on water safety. One of main objectives during this wonderful experience was to help guide and give my expertise on teaching to the Vietnamese swim instructors providing them with new ideas and techniques to use and to demonstrate to them on how we teach in Australia so they could achieve their Austswim qualification.

The children, who attend the program, come from 16 different primary schools in Hoi An and participate in swimming lessons for 3 days a week over a 6 week period. When the children first come along most of them have never seen a pool let alone be able to swim. The first lesson is to assess their abilities and they can an cannot do. The program is designed to have the children learn at slow and steady pace with the emphasis on being safe in the water. Each child who participates must complete a list of water safety questions and be able to swim 20m of any stroke including survival strokes to be presented with a certificate at presentation day.

During the time I spent teaching and living in Hoi An it became apparent that the program really needed a helping hand to keep it operating. So I am putting in place fundraising events to help the program to continue into the future.

Until next time…why not give a skill for life to save a life..


Tanya
President
Water Skills for Life