When 66 students came together for a water safety awareness program at Port Kembla Beach and McKeon’s swim school these holidays the smiles on their faces said it all.

Each time one of the students – some of whom were from the Congo, Eritrea, Syria, Togo and Iraq and had never been to the beach – caught a wave on a surfboard or swam a few stokes in the pool they came out of the water grinning. And the atmosphere was contagious, with volunteers from across the community who helped out also sharing in their joy.

The 5S program – Southern, Surf, Swim, Safety, Social – is a joint initiative of CareSouth, Wollongong City Council, Port Kembla Surf Club and McKeon’s Swim School to address the alarming rate of childhood drownings in Australia each summer.

The program was funded by the generosity of a club grant awarded from Berkeley Sports Club and The Illawarra Yacht Club.

The three-day program, coordinated by CareSouth’s Vickie Blackwell, was designed for students who have had limited exposure to swimming and surf safety due to cultural, economic or family barriers.

CareSouth had 32 children from our foster care, Aunties and Uncles and Brighter Futures programs participate in the intensive activities and a further 34 students were referred by community groups such as SCARF and Illawarra Multicultural Services.

Volunteers from Port Kembla Surf Club, ranging in age from 12 to 60, taught the students the importance of swimming between the flags and showed them basic first aid, how to spot rips and how to use a training board. At the pool the students learned about water safety, basic swimming skills and stroke techniques.

Halima was one of the many primary school-aged children who benefited from the program.
“I’ve learned to be safe at the beach and I’ve learned not to touch the dangerous animals in the rock pool,” said the 11-year-old, who arrived in Australia from Syria two years ago. “I also have new friends.”

Ms Blackwell said the program not only helped children stay safe at the beach and pool but it brought the community together with volunteers from CareSouth, Wollongong City Council and Illawarra Multicultural Services supporting the day-to-day running of the program.

“The 5S program is so important,” said Ms Blackwell “It is a community working together to give kids from all different backgrounds the opportunity to learn skills to keep them safe around the beach and pool. It is wonderful to see how many volunteers, kids and adults gave up their school holidays or work to help us run this program.”

One such volunteer was Fabio Remondi, a police officer who gave up his time to support the students at the beach and pool during the three-day program.
“Watching the excitement of the kids who had never been to beach before when they walked onto the sand was fantastic,” said Mr Remondi. “But it’s eye-opening to see just how many kids in our community don’t get to do surf and water safety. That’s why this program is such a great idea.” Wollongong City Council multicultural development worker Vimala Colless agrees.

“Every child deserves to learn to swim and feel safe at the beach and the pool,” said Ms Colless. “There are a number of kids here today from a range of cultures and many of them have never been to the beach. We were able to give them a positive experience of the beach and the pool in a safe and supported environment. While the program has been about providing water safety skills the other really important thing is that group interaction between the children. This has been a really good example of community harmony in action.”

McKeons Swim School Program Coordinator Nicole Costello said it was rewarding to watch the students confidence in the water grow each day.

“All these kids are attempting to do things that are out of their comfort zone,” she said. “But even in just three days we have seen an improvement in their abilities.”

The program’s stakeholders are hopeful 5s will become an annual event at the start of each surf and swim season and attract funding and support from a range of community groups in a bid to spread the water safety message far and wide.