Colletta Dube
Mkhululi Ncube and Ryan Sibanda
BULAWAYO will host its inaugural World Drowning Prevention Day next Saturday amid alarming statistics that reveal over 300 000 lives are lost annually globally due to drowning.
Drowning is a leading cause for children and adolescents aged between 5-14 years.
The awareness campaign is set for Hillside Dams Conservancy in Bulawayo with various stakeholders, who include the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Sub-Aqua Unit and Bulawayo City Council (BCC) emergency services expected to provide educational lessons.
Event organiser, Mr Khumbulani Moyo, a rescue diver and representative of Floric Roots Park, urged members of the public to attend the event to get critical life-saving information.
“We have invited emergency medical services that will be educating us about first aid, anything to do with life-saving related to water drowning incidents, said Mr Moyo.
“The programme will feature demonstrations by the ZRP Sub-Aqua Unit, which will showcase rescue and body retrieval procedures used during drowning incidents. Emergency medical services personnel are also expected to provide training in first aid and other life-saving techniques.”
Mr Moyo said their aims and goals extend to the general community of Bulawayo with schools also being their major target.
“We are planning to go forward conscientising communities. We embark on free programmes and training in institutions like schools and community events where we teach people feasible ways of preventing drowning,” he said.
“We educate people about drowning awareness issues, starting from swimming lessons, bystander rescue, first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which is an emergency lifesaving procedure performed when the heart stops beating and many more.”
Mr Moyo said after the main programme there will be several fun-filled activities which includes canoeing and zip-lining.
Online Reporter