Multicultural Swimming - Just Add Water
Wednesday 13 January 2010
Wyndham Leisure & Events Centre at Hoppers Crossing will again be the venue for the new VICSWIM Cultural program which will be run in conjunction with the new VICSWIM Summer Kidz program from January 11 through to 22.
This program is specifically designed to meet the needs of multicultural groups wanting to learn to swim and create better water education awareness. It has resulted from a successful partnership between Aquatics & Recreation Victoria and the New Hope Foundation, which began in 2008. It has since been joined by SpiritWest Services, the community arm of the Western Bulldogs Football Club.
“With the growing need to provide aquatic education to the many and varied multicultural groups that make up our communities, the VICSWIM Cultural program will go some way to providing the necessary skills and knowledge to enjoy Australia’s aquatic environments safely”, said Mr Ian Swan, CEO of Aquatics & Recreation Victoria, which runs the respected VICSWIM programs.
The program at Hoppers Crossing has resulted from an initial pilot program that involved refugees from Burma and Sudan, some of whom have gone on to train as AUSTSWIM swimming and water safety teachers. One of the aims of the VICSWIM Cultural program is to see bilingual instructors use their new skills to teach those within their own community about water safety and awareness.
With the help of the Western Bulldogs’ Settlement Grants Program, both ARV and the New Hope Foundation, in conjunction with the Wyndham Leisure & Events Centre have seen the program blossom. Over 100 participants from the local Karen, Sudanese, Ethiopian, Chinese and Croatian communities are being exposed to and taught aquatic education and water safety lessons by AUSTSWIM trained teachers.
By gaining their AUSTSWIM teacher qualification, after completing their training hours and practical experience at the Wyndham Leisure & Events Centre, some of the original students have also been able to gain subsequent employment at the Centre, with others from the Sudanese and Karen communities keen to follow in their footsteps.
Miss Rani Victor, from Hoppers Crossing via Sudan, who participated in VICSWIM's 2009 program, has now been engaged to teach in the current VICSWIM Summer Kidz, Cultural and Skoolz programs.
The strength of the VICSWIM Cultural program will be showcased during January, with 60 students of Karen, Sudanese and Ethiopian backgrounds being taught aquatic education and water safety, at the Wyndham Leisure & Events Centre, as a result of this unique partnership with the New Hope Foundation, SpiritWest Services and ARV. For these students it will mean their first experience in a swimming pool while being taught swimming and aquatic education by teachers sensitive to their cultural needs.
Wyndham Leisure & Events Centre at Hoppers Crossing will again be the venue for the new VICSWIM Cultural program which will be run in conjunction with the new VICSWIM Summer Kidz program from January 11 through to 22.
This program is specifically designed to meet the needs of multicultural groups wanting to learn to swim and create better water education awareness. It has resulted from a successful partnership between Aquatics & Recreation Victoria and the New Hope Foundation, which began in 2008. It has since been joined by SpiritWest Services, the community arm of the Western Bulldogs Football Club.
“With the growing need to provide aquatic education to the many and varied multicultural groups that make up our communities, the VICSWIM Cultural program will go some way to providing the necessary skills and knowledge to enjoy Australia’s aquatic environments safely”, said Mr Ian Swan, CEO of Aquatics & Recreation Victoria, which runs the respected VICSWIM programs.
The program at Hoppers Crossing has resulted from an initial pilot program that involved refugees from Burma and Sudan, some of whom have gone on to train as AUSTSWIM swimming and water safety teachers. One of the aims of the VICSWIM Cultural program is to see bilingual instructors use their new skills to teach those within their own community about water safety and awareness.
With the help of the Western Bulldogs’ Settlement Grants Program, both ARV and the New Hope Foundation, in conjunction with the Wyndham Leisure & Events Centre have seen the program blossom. Over 100 participants from the local Karen, Sudanese, Ethiopian, Chinese and Croatian communities are being exposed to and taught aquatic education and water safety lessons by AUSTSWIM trained teachers.
By gaining their AUSTSWIM teacher qualification, after completing their training hours and practical experience at the Wyndham Leisure & Events Centre, some of the original students have also been able to gain subsequent employment at the Centre, with others from the Sudanese and Karen communities keen to follow in their footsteps.
Miss Rani Victor, from Hoppers Crossing via Sudan, who participated in VICSWIM's 2009 program, has now been engaged to teach in the current VICSWIM Summer Kidz, Cultural and Skoolz programs.
The strength of the VICSWIM Cultural program will be showcased during January, with 60 students of Karen, Sudanese and Ethiopian backgrounds being taught aquatic education and water safety, at the Wyndham Leisure & Events Centre, as a result of this unique partnership with the New Hope Foundation, SpiritWest Services and ARV. For these students it will mean their first experience in a swimming pool while being taught swimming and aquatic education by teachers sensitive to their cultural needs.
