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WORLD DROWNING PREVENTION DAY

Summer is here, the weather is hot and the water can be very inviting….

Many of us will cool ourselves down by swimming in pools, rivers, and other bodies of water. Monday 25th July is World Drowning Prevention Day. A day set aside to raise awareness of drowning and celebrate the actions and initiatives that lifesaving organisations around the world are taking to prevent drownings. Sadly there have been several drownings over the last couple of days, so we are strongly advising everyone, especially young people not to get in the water without considering life saving water skills to avoid fatalities.

With 93-95% of adults and 78-80% of children of African, Caribbean, and Asian heritage in England not swimming regularly, it’s hard to understand how many people from our communities understand the importance of water safety and drowning prevention.

As well as being Co-Founder of the BSA and producer of the Blacks Can’t Swim documentaries, I am also very importantly a loving parent, so I am very aware of issues around peer pressure, which we tackle and feature heavily in our new film documentary Blacks Can’t Swim REWIND

Please watch the film documentaries and have these urgent conversations with your children and loved ones, make sure they know what to do – and what NOT to do to stay safe and have fun in and around water, especially during these record breaking hot summer holidays.

We recommend only visiting life-guarded beaches, click here to find your nearest life-guarded beach.

Remember safety first, respect the water & follow these guide lines!

  • If you’re at the seaside or along the River Thames and see someone in trouble in the water, please dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
  • If you are anywhere else inland like a canal, lake or reservoir – dial 999 and ask for the fire service.
  • The most important thing to remember is not to go in after your friend, your dog, your ball to attempt a rescue. In the last couple of weeks several people have drowned in the Thames.

You don’t want to be the next family mourning the loss of a loved one – so have that conversation today, and remember to dial 999

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