A new Active Manningham program is providing life-saving water safety skills to adults from our multicultural community who have little or no swimming experience.
Eighteen people recently graduated from the first round of the 10-week Safely Engaging with Water Program at Aquarena Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Templestowe Lower.
Manningham Mayor, Cr Deirdre Diamante, attended the final session and celebration event, presenting certificates to the successful participants together with Dr Harpreet Singh Kandra, who helped develop the program with Aligned Leisure.
The program creates a safe, inclusive environment for adults from multicultural communities to learn about water safety and develop basic swimming skills. It aims to help participants overcome fear and anxiety associated with water while reducing the risk of drowning.
Cr Diamante congratulated the graduates for taking the important first step of learning to swim.
"Water safety is such a valuable life skill. I'd like to thank Dr Kandra and Aligned Leisure for making this life-saving program available to our multicultural community," Cr Diamante said.
The program offers subsidised male-only and female-only sessions with experienced instructors of the same gender during quieter off-peak times, providing a more comfortable learning environment for participants.
"It's been great value and I've learnt so much," one participant said of their experience.
"The instructor is amazing and has been teaching us very well," another participant said.
