Help prevent 700 children from drowning in Vietnam

 Chúc mung nam moi! Happy New Year from Swim for Life Vietnam! We hope each of you had a joyful and restful holiday season. We are so grateful for the opportunity to save children’s lives through drowning prevention – the accomplishments of our programs would not have been possible without your support. Below you will find just a few of our achievements in the year 2016!!

Learn-to-Swim Program - 18-lesson survival swimming course

• Trained 12 new swim teachers
• Taught 1,534 students survival swimming skills (these children are now 93% less likely to drown)

Water Safety Education Program– 60 minute, classroom-based program teaching children how to be safe in and around the water

• Conducted TOT training with 432 PE teachers and Activity Coordinators in 229 primary schools on Water Safety Education
• Taught Water Safety Education to approximately 72,000 primary-age students

Broad Community Awareness– share stories about the realities of drowning, and information about Swim for Life Programs

• Developed and ran 3 reports and a weekend story on Quang Binh Television
• Created and aired 3 reports on Quang Binh Radio

Research and Policy– partnership with Indiana University, The Vietnam Initiative Think Tank, and global drowning prevention experts

• Established partnership with Dr. Ramos from Indiana University, serving as the lead researcher, to evaluate the effectiveness of our programs through a multi-phase research project – other participating steering committee members include Dr. Quan, Dr. Aminur and  Jo Stewart (Swim Vietnam)
• Secured commitment for collaboration with WHO Vietnam, Hanoi School of Public Health, and the Vietnam National University, Hanoi
• Drafted policy brief on drowning prevention in an effort to advocate for drowning prevention at the national level in Vietnam

PR and Fundraising – efforts to raise awareness and sustiainable funding for Swim for Life Program (although this is a long-term process, we are excited about the following):

• Raised awareness about drowning as a global public health issue and the Swim for Life Program in the US through happy hour events, University presentations, Rotary and Kiwanis presentations, other networking meetings and a social media campaign

• Graduated from Global Giving Accelerator Program, by raising over $6000; also secured our project in this online fundraising platform for years to come

• Received individual contributions from several friends, family members, collaegues, and volunteers outside of the Global Giving campaign totaling approxmiately $8000

• Earned a corporate donation of $5000 from Microsoft through participation in the “Reunion with a Purpose” alumni event

THANK YOU again for your support in spreading the word, volunteering, and contributing financially to this incredibly important work of saving children’s lives through drowning prevention. We are looking forward to the year ahead, and will contine to be connected with each of you along the way!

All the best for the new year!

Beth and Kevin

Links:

• Swim for Life Vietnam main page
• World Health Organization Report on Drowning
• Unicef Report on Drowning