Swimming lessons for the once landlocked
Two Whangārei-based families who escaped the Taliban rule of landlocked Afghanistan have made a splash at their first swim lesson.
As the kiddie pool brims with loud cheers and giggles, the men learning in the adult pool area struggle to keep up with the pace.
Nevertheless, it’s still all fun and exciting.
The families are getting Kiwibeach-summer-ready with four swim lessons — July 11, 12, 18 and 19 — in the hydrothermal pool at Whangārei Aquatic Centre.
Whananaki Holiday Camp manager Marshall Harman said the kids were very much looking forward to time in pools.
“When we pulled up outside, they couldn’t hold their excitement.”
For young Hadi Samadi, the lessons were pretty “easy”, but not so much for his father Abdul Aziz Samadi.
Centre instructors Lily Curreen and Cortney Phillips were training the seven young Afghan children and found the session fun and unique.
While Curreen worked on stability in water, floating and made sure the kids were able to paddle to safety, Phillips kept them occupied with basic kicking lengths and safety U-turns in water during the first session on Monday.
The trainers said the kids should be able to do basic swimming in the course of three to four sessions.
“They learned very quickly, now I just need to learn how to say ‘straight legs’ in their language,” said Curreen with a smile.
The families received huge community support in the form of donations, and swim costumes were a part of it.
Kamo High School head prefect Hannah Donnell also raised money at the school’s mufti day for swimming lessons. The children had no idea how to swim, and since it was more efficient to bring them into town and give them lessons, Donnelly said they also got the centre involved.
The 17-year-old successfully negotiated a 50 per cent discount per person on each swimming lesson.