Kerala: NGO to train kids stop drowning

ALAPPUZHA: To make this a drowning-free summer vacation, the Life Saving Training Centre and Rashtriya Life Saving Society (RLSS) will train how a layperson can respond to an emergency situation. As there is a high possibility of child drowning during vacation,  the centre in Champa-kulam, Kuttanad, offers demonstrations to interested voluntary groups. It has been training kids as well as elders on lifesaving techniques and educating the masses on the need to be safe in and around water.

Tom Joseph, director, Baylife, which runs the centre, says people who don’t swim, jump into the water when they confront with a drowning situation. “We associate with Royal Life Saving Association Australia that has trained some 200,000 people in resuscitation, trauma management, first aid, lifesaving and lifeguarding,” he said. “Every parent has to take extreme care of nearby water bodies and keep children away. If your child falls into water, you have to rescue with a long stick or thick rope. Our prime aim is to empower people with lifesaving skills. Educational institutions, voluntary organisations and tourism centres can introduce these training courses at all levels.”

Presently the centre helps to make people aware of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), trauma management, first aid (basic life support), advanced first aid, swim-n-survive (sur-vival swimming), lifesaver, pool lifeguard, open water lifeguard and search and rescue diver. “Alappuzha is the hub of houseboats. But the harsh reality is that the employees on houseboats are not even able to swim properly,” he said. The society currently engages schools, institutions and organisations across the country to promote safety consciousness at home, school, and workplace. To empower children with skills to be safe in the water and increase their participation in aquatic activity RLSS has pioneered a programme called ‘Swim N Survive’.