Government recognises lifeguard for saving child
A quick-thinking lifeguard at a Fujairah hotel was honoured after she saved a twoyear-old boy.
The toddler and his family were guests at the Mirage Hotel. His family were by the pool when the incident happened.
Angel Nakabiito, a lifeguard from Uganda, said she knew exactly what to do to save the child because she was trained by Blue Guard Middle East, a Dubai consultancy that specialises in water safety training.
“I saw that a toddler had drowned from consuming pool water and my first reaction was to perform CPR,” said Ms Nakabiito, 28.
“I followed protocol, gave him five initial breaths and thankfully was able to resuscitate him.
“My training is still fresh, so I was able to perform this perfectly.
“I’m extremely happy and proud of myself, because I saved a life.”
Ms Nakabiito has been working in the UAE since 2019. In recognition of her actions, she was awarded a certificate of appreciation from the Ministry of Interior and received a letter of recognition from the hotel.
She will also be given a lifetime of lifeguard refresher training and licence renewals from Blue Guard.
Her employers said they were proud of Ms Nakabiito’s rapid response.
“Thanks to the continuous training of our lifeguards, the child’s life was saved,” said Waleed Sotouhi, executive assistant manager at Mirage Hotels Group.
“It is really important to keep investing in training and we will continue strong training for the entire department, especially our lifeguards.”
Trained personnel are on duty at most beaches and hotel pools in the UAE to keep swimmers safe, but not all community pools are guarded.
The incident at the Mirage Hotel showed the importance of lifeguards, said Luke Cunningham, founder and managing director of Blue Guard Middle East.
“This is exactly why we train lifeguards, to prevent incidents from becoming fatal accidents,” he said.
“Our vision is to make everyone a lifesaver and build safer communities.
“We have trained more than 4,000 people in lifesaving skills over the past four years, and we are proud that a lifeguard trained by us was able to save a toddler’s life.”