Launch of the world’s first International Drowning Research Centre in Bangladesh

By Tarina Filed in Uncategorized August 13th, 2010 @ 3:16 am

At the launch - the IDRC will carry out research to develop effective and sustainable drowning interventions in Asia

The official opening - the IDRC will carry out research to develop effective and sustainable drowning interventions in Asia

The International Drowning Research Centre – Bangladesh (IDRC-B) was officially launched on Wednesday 4 August 2010 in Dhaka with over 200 people attending the launch ceremony.

The centre, based in Dhaka, is the first of its kind anywhere in the world and will carry out research to develop effective and sustainable drowning interventions that are appropriate for Bangladesh and countries with similar social, cultural and risk environments, especially neighbouring countries across Asia.

The IDRC-B is coordinated by the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) along with its partners the Royal Life Saving Society – Australia (RLSSA), The Alliance for Safe Children (TASC) and supported the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).

The State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Dr Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury was chief guest of the launching ceremony and spoke about how a greater awareness is needed around such tragic deaths amongst children and research focusing on action and results could be the key to reducing the child drowning rate.

Also on hand to launch the centre were special guests MD Ishaque Hosain Talukder MP, Dr Justin Lee – Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Serguei Diordista of WHO, Carel de Rooy of UNICEF, as well as representatives of RLSSA, TASC and CIPRB.

SwimSafe Danang 2010 underway

By Tarina Filed in Uncategorized June 30th, 2010 @ 4:11 am
Water familiarisation in one of Danang's 10 portable pools

Water familiarisation in one of Danang's 10 portable pools

The SwimSafe Danang summer 2010 program is well underway with survival swimming classes in progress at 13 venues across the seven districts of Danang province, Vietnam. Now in its second year, SwimSafe aims to reach an additional 5,000 students aged 6-11 over the course of the summer and in after school programs.

In a necessary bid to reduce child drowning rates in Vietnam, these students will learn the basics of survival swimming and safe rescue techniques, including CPR for those over 10 years.

The 10 primary schools participating in the SwimSafe program in 2010 each have a SwimSafe portable pool onsite. These schools are:

  • Be Van Dan – Thanh Khe district
  • Nguyen Ngoc Hue – Thanh Khe district
  • Nui Thanh – Hai Chau district
  • Le Thanh Ton – Hai Chau district
  • Ngo Gia Tu – Son Tra district
  • Hoang Du Khuong – Cam Le district
  • Phan Phu Tien – Lien Chieu district
  • Tran Quang Dieu – Ngu Han Son district
  • Hoa Tien – Hoa Vang district
  • Hoa Khuong 2 – Hoa Vang district

SwimSafe Da Nang also utilizes an in-ground swimming pool at the city’s rehabilitation hospital as well as teaching in a natural water environment at two beaches is Son Tra and Thanh Khe districts.

Many of the portable pool sites have been renovated this year, with sturdier shades following last year’s typhoon at the end of the SwimSafe season.

Prior to classes getting started, all 120 swim instructors attended training and refresher workshops to update them on the revisions to the SwimSafe curriculum. The Training of Trainers (TOT) model employed by SwimSafe Danang has proved very successful, with the core group of 22 teachers who participated in a training workshop led by an expert Royal Life Saving Society – Australia trainer then going on to bring the remainder of their colleagues up to speed.

In fact, the successes and profile of SwimSafe Danang thus far mean that come July 2010, around 20 trainees from other Vietnamese provinces will come to Danang to participate in a SwimSafe TOT session, again led by the Royal Life Saving Society – Australia and the core group of Danang trainers. This workshop is a precursor to the roll out of survival swimming classes elsewhere in Vietnam, with SwimSafe Danang as the pilot model.

Bangkok Patana Tigersharks’ 3rd Annual Swim-a-thon Fundraiser for TASC

By Tarina Filed in Thailand, Thailand June 9th, 2010 @ 5:17 am
A great all-age turn out at the 2010 swim-a-thon fundraiser for TASC in Thailand

A great all-age turn out at the 2010 swim-a-thon fundraiser for TASC in Thailand

The Tigersharks swim team of the Bangkok Patana School on 5-6 June 2010 hosted the third annual swim-a-thon fundraiser for The Alliance for Safe Children (TASC). The event was a great success, with six teams swimming right through the night from 6pm to 6am and an additional five teams sprinting through the first hour of power.

The swim-a-thon was well attended by a diverse crowd of smiling faces; young families, Patana students, friends of the school community – even a rugby team joined in the fun. The smiles continued well into the early hours of Sunday morning, as both tiredness and determination set in amongst the 12 hour teams.

Congratulations to the winning teams Bangkok Bangers (1hr Team Champions) & Patana TigerSharks (12hr Team Champions). It was incredible to see the TigerSharks continue sprinting throughout the entire night.

For three years running, the TigerSharks have brought the community together to swim in support of TASC’s drowning prevention activities in Thailand. Funds from the swim-a-thon have so far been used to purchase the two SwimSafe portable pools currently installed at schools in Samut Prakan and Chiang Rai provinces. This is valuable infrastructure the program could not do without.

TASC and the SwimSafe team extend our gratitude to the TigerSharks for their ongoing commitment to addressing the problem of child drowning in Thailand. The 2010 effort raised more than ever before and will support SwimSafe in establishing a third venue in Thailand over the coming year. So a huge thanks to everyone who swam or sponsored a team – you really have made a difference.

A very special thank you to Head Coach, Cindy Adair-Bolakoso and staff for the tremendous effort in organising the swim-a-thon each year and keeping spirits high throughout the night.

We hope to see you all again next year!

Gearing up for SwimSafe Da Nang 2010

By Tarina Filed in Vietnam, Vietnam April 28th, 2010 @ 5:45 am
TOT participants gather around the pool during training in Danang, 25 April 2010.

TOT participants will train an additional 80 teachers in the updated SwimSafe 2010 curriculum.

TASC and RLSSA kicked off the SwimSafe 2010 program in Da Nang on Sunday, 25 April with a trainers workshop which provided 22 local swimming instructors with updates on the Swim Safe curriculum and gave them practical instruction in the pool from an RLSSA Senior trainer.

The Workshop was held at the TASC compound and was organized by TASC Da Nang in cooperation with the instructors from the Da Nang Department of Education and Da Nang Life Guard Service. Ms. Maureen Summerhayes, an Australian instructor with over 30 years experience training swimming teachers, came in from RLSSA in Sydney to lead the class.

Course content was presented which addressed changes to last year’s curriculum. Of specific interest to the swimming instructors were changes in the pre-assessment process, the certification test, and the lesson plans. The objective of SwimSafe is to make children water safe, and the 2010 curriculum puts a more focused emphasis on survival swimming skills.  As this is the second year of the Da Nang program, lessons learned from last year have been incorporated into the curriculum changes.

The program included a “wet lab” where six children of different abilities helped the RLSSA instructor demonstrate proper training techniques and give the local instructors an opportunity to work in the water with the instructor.

Maureen Summerhayes from RLSSA shared her expertise with our Vietnamese trainers in what was a very successful workshop.

Maureen Summerhayes from RLSSA shared her expertise with our Vietnamese trainers in what was a very successful workshop.

The target for 2010 is again 5000 primary school children in grades P1-P 5. This encompasses children aged 6-11.  Older students, aged 10-11, are given practical lessons in resuscitation as well as the basic course in survival swimming and water safety. The program will be run in 10 portable pools set up on primary school campuses with primary school teachers serving as the instructors and one or two beach venues which are managed by the life guards. These 22 instructors will help train an additional 80 swimming instructors during May with the program getting underway the first week of June when summer vacation begins. The majority of the teachers will be returning teachers from last year’s program.

SwimSafe is a collaborative program in child water safety between The Alliance for Safe Children, the Royal Life Saving Society – Australia, and local institutions in Bangladesh, Thailand, and Vietnam.

International Drowning Research Centre to open in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

By Tarina Filed in Bangladesh February 17th, 2010 @ 2:58 am
SwimSafe classes in Raiganj, Bangladesh

SwimSafe classes in Raiganj, Bangladesh

The Australian Agency for International Development, AusAID, is partnering with the Royal Life Saving Society – Australia to open the world’s first International Drowning Research Centre in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The International Drowning Research Centre will be based at the headquarters of the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) but its impact will span across Asia.  It will be formally launched in the coming months.  The centre which will build the scientific evidence to show that drowning can be prevented in developing countries by focusing on key research projects aimed at reducing child drowning in each of the key life stages; preschool, school aged and adolescents. The findings and programs will be used to help build skills across the region to prevent drowning.

The Australian government is contributing $850,000 over 3 years to assist Royal Life Saving, the CIPRB and partner The Alliance for Safe Children to address this issue.

The International Drowning Research Centre will also promote the need for people across the region to be taught CPR and basic rescue skills.  A critical part in the development of a culture of water safety, these skills can be lifesaving in emergency and disaster situations that affect countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam and Thailand regularly.

The Centre has received much attention in the Australian media. Follow the links below to find out more.

Lifesavers bid to cut Asia drownings – ABC News Australia, 10 February 2010

Australian lifesavers to launch Asian drowning research centre – ABC Radio Australia News, 10 February 2010

Drowning: The everyday danger on our doorstep – Justin Scarr, Chief Operating Officer, RLSSA in the Sydney Morning Herald, 10 February 2010

Australian Government Partnership Announced – the Royal Life Saving Society – Australia


World Conference on Drowning Prevention, Danang 2011

By tracie Filed in Vietnam January 19th, 2010 @ 10:51 pm
Website Launched for the World Conference on Drowning Prevention 2011
Address: www.worldconferenceondrowning.org
Royal Life Saving Society – Australia and The Alliance for Safe Children, the hosts of the next International Life Saving Federation conference have launched a website promoting this fast approaching event. The World Conference on Drowning Prevention 2011 will be held in Danang, Vietnam, 10-13th May 2011. The conference aims to focus world attention on the global burden of drowning, with a specific emphasis on the epidemic of drowning deaths in developing countries.
Along with Prevention, the conference will focus on the key areas of Drowning Research, Rescue, Disaster, Treatment and Collaboration. As the world authority in global efforts to prevent drowning, the International Life Saving Federation is keen to ensure that this conference has an impact on drowning related research, policy and practice.
The World Conference on Drowning Prevention 2011 website has several features designed to build interest in the conference and the issue of drowning as we work towards Danang, including a news service, venue information and a database of Conference Ambassadors.  The hosts also aim to build a knowledge base of resources, projects, research and organisations, all focused on reinforcing the need for coordinated global advocacy to reduce drowning.
Vietnam, the setting for the World Conference on Drowning Prevention 2011, is a vibrant country, with a rich history, diverse culture, friendly people and great food. Situated in central Vietnam, Danang is a bustling sea port, with a long sandy beach and is within reach of four UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Tragically, more than 11,000 children drown in Vietnam each year, and typhoons cause heavy rain, flooding and storm surges that make preventing drowning a major priority to central and regional governments.
The conference will also include a visit to the SwimSafe Danang teaching sites to show the conference participants the first hand response to preventing the child drowning epidemic in Vietnam and the the Asian region.
Check it out now, and be sure to register your interest to ensure that you are updated as we get closer to Danang 2011

Please click logo to enter the World Conference on Drowning Prevention Website

Please click logo to enter the World Conference on Drowning Prevention Website

Address: www.worldconferenceondrowning.org

Royal Life Saving Society – Australia and The Alliance for Safe Children, the hosts of the next International Life Saving Federation conference have launched a website promoting this fast approaching event. The World Conference on Drowning Prevention 2011 will be held in Danang, Vietnam, 10-13th May 2011. The conference aims to focus world attention on the global burden of drowning, with a specific emphasis on the epidemic of drowning deaths in developing countries. Read more

Press release: SwimSafe Thailand launch

By Tarina Filed in Uncategorized December 24th, 2009 @ 1:23 am

ATI at the SwimSafe Thailand launch The Australian Embassy in Thailand has issued a press release about the SwimSafe Thailand launch held at the end of November 2009.

SwimSafe Thailand is principally funded by the Australia-Thailand Institute.

The CIPRB is now on Facebook

By Tarina Filed in Uncategorized December 24th, 2009 @ 12:39 am

CIPRB Facebook pageCheck out the latest news, photos and activities from SwimSafe Bangladesh on the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh Facebook page. And don’t forget to become a fan!

CIPRB Newsletter Winter 2009 out now

By Tarina Filed in Uncategorized December 24th, 2009 @ 12:08 am
SwimSafe class in Bangladesh

SwimSafe classes in Raiganj, Bangladesh

The Winter 2009 issue of the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh newsletter is now in circulation. View the newsletter here to find out the latest in drowning and injury prevention in Bangladesh.

Read more

Photo Album: SwimSafe Thailand so far

By tracie Filed in Thailand December 8th, 2009 @ 6:40 pm
Swimming Demonstartion at the SwimSafe Thailand Launch

Swimming Demonstration at the SwimSafe Thailand Launch

View through the TASC Facebook Page

SwimSafe Thailand was officially launched in November 2009, to a great response from the local community.

Portable SwimSafe pools were set up at two schools in rural Chiang Rai and urban Samut Prakan provinces. Teachers have been trained as survival swimming instructors and are now delivering the course to students.

These Thai children are learning the survival swimming and rescue skills that will help protect them from drowning. This album will give you a bit of an idea of the SwimSafe Thailand story so far!

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Preventing child drowning in Asia through teaching survival swimming skills

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