A solitary candle

Swim for safety helps tsunami affected children:

by Surekha Galagoda

[email protected]

Many Sri Lankans are unable to swim and this was cited as one of the major reasons people lost their lives during the tsunami of December 2004. According to statistics 60% of the people died during the tsunami due to drowning. In addition annually an average of over 100 die due to drowning and this may be more as all deaths which occur due to drowning are not officially reported or counted.
 

Therefore Mevan Jayawardena who was the head of AFLAC (Association for Light a Candle) tsunami projects identified the need to teach swimming to Sri Lankans who cannot afford to learn swimming so that they can save their lives from the death traps in the water if the need arises.

Mevan aged 25 took 9 months off from his job in Melbourne and worked free to help the tsunami affected way back in 2005. A double degree holder from Monash University he is presently working for Goldmansachs in Melbourne.

Thus was born the project idea Swim for Safety (SFS) as a brainchild of Mevan Jayawardena under AFLAC. Though AFLAC incurs a cost of Rs. 120,000 a month as expenses children are taught to swim free of charge while they are given swimming kits also on request in addition to a hot cup of Milo after each session of swimming.

The first year of operation 2007 was sponsored by Capital Group from Hong Kong while the first 6 months of 2008 are sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Peter Rose from New York.

To make the project a reality, AFLAC gathered experts in the field including swimming trainers, training course planners as well as its own Board of Directors and conducted several meetings.

Finally AFLAC decided to construct a 25-meter swimming pool at St. Sebastian's College, Moratuwa at a cost of Rs. 9 million. It was donated to the College and opened in December 2006.

According to a spokesman the college can use the pool for its training needs while AFLAC uses the pool to train the SFS trainees after school on week days and on Saturday mornings. For a month SFS gets 100 hours of pool time and it is agreed that they will get this time allocation until year 2016.

Suitable and qualified staff handle the training project and includes a Project Director, Chief Co-ordinator, Pool Room Manager and three assistants.

At the end of each training course (12 sessions) AFLAC conducts an Exhibition swim session and certificate award ceremony for children who successfully complete the training. Parents and family members of trainees are invited for this occasion. A Chief Guest is invited by AFLAC on each of these occasions to distribute the certificates among trainees.

Last year three teams from Payagala travelling a distance of over 70 kilometers (one way) participated in the programme. While AFLAC sponsored travelling expenses for one team at a cost of Rs. 50,000 travelling expenses for another team from Payagala was sponsored by an individual donor, who is an ardent supporter of AFLAC.

Teams from the beach huts from the villages of Koralawella, and Modera, Moratuwa including children who were affected by the tsunami, participated in the programme. The travelling expenses were met by AFLAC. A nine-year-old girl who was carried away by the tsunami but managed to save her life, were among the trainees who successfully completed the course.

Many schools which participated at the SFS were the poorest of the poor in Moratuwa and adjoining areas. It was learnt that some of the children who participated in this programme have only one meal a day. No incidents of drowning was reported for the whole of 2007.

Any school, organisation or individual, interested in joining the programme can contact AFLAC main office at 11/3, Dharmaratne Avenue, Rawatawatte Moratuwa, Telephone 0914-1-2642526 for details, or call over at AFLAC Pool Office at St. Sebastian's College, Moratuwa on days training are held (Monday to Friday 2.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. and Saturday 9.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m.). Organisations and individuals are able to enrol for training by filling an application form and a detail form which are kept for record purposes in the AFLAC Poolroom. Poolroom staff could be contacted during the aforesaid hours on Telephone, 072-5248467.

AFLAC plans to train 10,000 persons during a period of 10 years averaging 1000 per year. AFLAC may even consider taking the project to outstations provided necessary training facilities could be made available, as the AFLAC Swimming Pool in Moratuwa could only cater to organisations situated within a limited distance.

The anticipated costs for the whole project would be approximately 15 million rupees. Captain Elmo Jayawardena said that SFS is not a charity program but we are merely doing our duty so that the children can swim to safety in the event of a disaster.

Most importantly it is not a competition, he said. AFLAC is looking for sponsors from companies that have CSR programs. AFLAC works on the principle "it is better by far to light a solitary candle than curse the darkness." and Captain Elmo Jayawadena is the founder/President of AFLAC International. He is the winner of the Gratiaen Award in 2001 and State Literary award in 2005. All royalties from his books are mainly used for the work of AFLAC International.

AFLAC has 20 branches globally and they raise funds and source sponsorships for AFLAC's many humanitarian projects in Sri Lanka. ALFAC has three sponsorship programs including the education program where more than 800 student sponsorships have been given to school and tertiary level students from all parts of the country.

The second is a food program for destitute families named "gift a meal" where more than 240 families receive dry rations every month.

While the third is assisting cancer patients. More than 326 cancer patients have been assisted with health supplements worth over Rs. 1,400 on a monthly basis for each patient. In addition to these programs AFLAC does many other programs to brighten the lives of people.