Ugandans swimming to survive

By Sarah Grainger
BBC News, Uganda

Going home for lunch can be risky if you can't swim

Laban Ahimbisibwe, 10, used to be terrified of swimming.

Like many of his classmates at Bufuka Primary School in south-western Uganda, water is a part of his daily life.

He lives on the shores of Lake Bunyonyi where he and his classmates often have to collect water for the home, or travel to school in dugout canoes.

But until recently, Laban and his friends could not swim.

"About 100 of our pupils have to cross the lake to come to school in the morning and again to go home for lunch," says Stanley Habomugisha, the headmaster of Bufuka Primary School, which sits on a steep slope above the lake.

"In 2001 we lost a child who drowned as he was fetching water. Then in 2005 my own daughter died, also fetching water. And another child drowned last year."

The situation had become so bad, that the school turned to volunteers at Edirisa, a local cultural organisation, to provide free swimming lessons for their pupils.

Now all children from the age of eight upwards are taught to swim.

Water wings

Before this, none of the students at the school had any swimming lessons, now 440 out of the 660 pupils are learning.

The reason the other 220 have not commenced learning yet is because they are under eight.

Now I swim every day Laban Ahimbisibwe

"The lady who taught me made me stand in the water while she swam away from me," explains Laban.

"She turned and started shouting to me, 'Come on Laban, push the water, push, push.' I was afraid I would drown. But I did what she said and I moved slowly and I reached her."

And it is not just the children who are benefiting from swimming lessons.

Headmaster Habomugisha is also taking lessons after school when his pupils have gone home.

Local journalist Adrian Baryamujura has got his water wings too.

"This is where I work and people have drowned before my eyes. If people here knew how to swim maybe they could save themselves or someone else," he says.

Permanent help

Few children could swim before the lessons were introduced

So far the swimming lessons have relied on short-term volunteers, usually young people who travel to south-western Uganda from Europe.

But Edirisa is hoping for more permanent help.

The organisation has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Lake Rescue Institute in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, which hopes to provide a long-term volunteer to improve the quality of the lessons and even add a lake rescue service.

Even with these plans the progress made so far is considerable.

Laban and his friends are known as the school's "experts" and can easily race each other over 100 metres.

"When I started learning, it was difficult," says Laban. "But now I swim every day, and if you ask what my favourite thing is, I would tell you it's swimming."