Swimming lessons will be offered to the City of Logan's refugee, migrant and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities over the next two years in a bid to reduce drowning rates.
The Swim Logan project will educate participants on water safety and provide culturally-appropriate lessons at four Logan pools.
The program is a joint effort between Logan City Council's Community Services and AquaLogan staff, the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland and The Aqua English Project.
Recently, the project secured $644,080 from the Federal Government's Driving Social Inclusion through Sport and Physical Activity grant program.
Logan City Council Lifestyle Committee Chairperson, Councillor Laurie Koranski, said the project was designed to ensure more Logan residents could enjoy water activities safely.
"The ability to enjoy our pools, beaches and waterways safely is a vital part of the Australian way of life," Cr Koranski said.
"This program is designed to minimise incidences of drowning and extend that enjoyment to those in our community who may not have had access to swimming lessons before.
"We welcome this week's funding from the Federal Government which will help boost this life-saving initiative."
Federal Member for Forde, Bert van Manen MP said it was a great initiative from Logan City Council.
"Logan has a unique cultural tapestry like no other and this project was identified as serving an important role in driving social inclusion across the city to create better and healthier communities."
"This is even more important as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic."
A start date and program schedule, which was delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions, will be announced in coming weeks.
The program will run at the Beenleigh, Logan North, Eagleby and Gould Adams Aquatic Centres.
The free sessions will be aimed at those over 16 and will be delivered by bilingual educators.
The program will include the provision of culturally-appropriate swimming equipment, pool signage, first aid and CPR training, as well as opportunities for participants to upskill as pool instructors, providing future employment pathways.
Free transport and supervised activities for children will also be offered to support participant's access to the sessions.
