City kids taught how to swim

By July 5, 2015Inside News, News

ANTICIPATING calamitous flooding in Dagupan City during rainy season and onset of typhoons, the city government has been gathering children to be taught how to swim and learn how to save themselves in case they fall in the river or deep floodwaters.

To date and in line with the program on disaster preparedness of City Mayor Belen Fernandez, the city government has already taught 1,357 children since the project was launched two years ago.

Finella Sim, a member of the Dagupan City Sports Commission  (DCSC) and technical consultant on swimming, said the mayor wants at least 6,000 children are taught how to swim by year 2016.

Over the past two years, swimming lessons were given during summer at the Dagupan City Poolsite, an Olympic-size swimming pool where the swimming competitions for the Palarong Pambansa in 1995 and 2012 were held.

Sim said teaching the targeted 6,000 children can be accomplished if the public and private schools will make swimming as part of their Physical Education (PE) Class.

“We have our new schools division superintendent Froserfina Bravo. We will talk to her to let swimming be part of PE in public schools,” she said.

If she agrees, the Dagupan Poolsite can be used by the students as venue for their PE classes, she said, predicting that within a year or just six months, the target of 6,000 children to be trained in swimming in Dagupan may be met.

Mayor Fernandez said that being a flood-prone area, the city people must know how to swim to save themselves and she said it’s the children who are most vulnerable.

She has also recommended that at least one member in the family be also taught life-saving techniques so the trained member can help save a member of the family from drowning in case of an emergency. (Leonardo Micua)

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