Teaching young girls to swim

A CAPE Town swimming coach wants to empower young girls from disadvantaged communities by teaching them to swim for free.

Founder of Fr3kls (pronounced freckles) Aquatics Naadhirah Mukadam, who has been swimming for most of her life, said she was motivated to start the initiative due to the number of drownings affecting the less privileged.

A qualified swimming coach, with a BSc in Sport and Exercise science from UWC, Mukadam said: “It is a learn-to-swim project for underprivileged children.

“We work with youth from the ages of 8 years and up.

“When I say underprivileged, I mean children who come from less fortunate backgrounds, orphans and children who are not able or fortunate enough to attend swimming lessons.

“The reason why we’re doing this and why Planet Mercy (a charity organisation) has taken this on is because there are lots of drownings that are happening, especially in the less fortunate areas and there is a lot of fear around water within these kids we are teaching.”

In last year’s project a mixed group of youth from Ikwezi Park, Khayelitsha and St Francis Boys Home join the swimming programme.

“If we can empower these kids through swimming, then hopefully they’ll be able to teach and educate others about swimming and water safety.”

This year, 10 girls from the Habibia Orphanage will be invited to join the project. A full swimming kit and transport fees will be provided.

Certificates as well as an award ceremony will also take place upon completion of the 10-week program.

The project will take place every Saturday and will run for 30 minutes.

Those wishing to support the initiative can sponsor a child.

For more information, contact Waheeda Mukadam on 083 786 0568 or Naadhirah Mukadam on 073 223 7984 or visit the website www.planetmercy. org.za or info@planetmercy.org.za

Planet Mercy’s banking details: FNB; Account name: Planet Mercy South Africa; Account number: 624 953 71694; Reference: Swim.