More calls for newcomer swim lessons, water-safety training after 12-year-old boy drowns By: Chris Kitching Posted: 6:30 PM CDT Monday, May. 29, 2023

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This article was published 29/05/2023 (1203 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

During a day trip to Patricia Beach Provincial Park one recent summer, a group of newcomer children watched in awe as Mathew Joseph swam through the water.

“They were so stunned to see a newcomer like them swimming,” said Joseph, a program manager with the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba.

He learned how to swim in his native South Sudan before arriving in Canada.

But many newcomers, including kids who take part in IRCOM’s beach trips, don’t know how to swim or don’t fully understand the dangers in lakes and rivers, he said.

“Part of the integration for newcomers is to give them the opportunities to enjoy Manitoba and not be scared,” said Joseph. “We need to work together to provide these opportunities.”

Calls for more lessons and education for children and newcomers were renewed on the weekend. A 12-year-old Winnipeg boy was swept to his death after slipping and falling into the water Saturday morning at Sturgeon Falls in Whiteshell Provincial Park.

The body of Usaid Habib, whose family is originally from Pakistan, was recovered at about 1 a.m. Monday.

After programs were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Joseph and groups such as Lifesaving Society of Manitoba are advocating for wider and barrier-free access to swimming lessons and water-safety courses for newcomers of all ages and children from all backgrounds.

Manitoba lacks courses for newcomers, even though they face a greater risk of drowning, according to Joseph and Christopher Love, Lifesaving Society Manitoba’s Water Smart and safety management co-ordinator.

There is no permanent, year-round program in Manitoba, but there should be, given the number of drownings involving newcomers in recent years, said Joseph.

“If we teach them, they can teach others,” he said. “When we have more trained newcomers, you will see more newcomers learning to swim.”

A 2016 report by the Lifesaving Society of Canada said newcomers ages 11 to 14 are five times more likely to not know how to swim compared with children born and raised in Canada.

Overall, newcomers represent a small number of drowning victims in Manitoba.

Joseph and Love said there needs to be a co-ordinated effort to teach more people how to swim and stay safe in and around water.

“There is no specific program that is just focusing on newcomer youth or newcomers, in general,” said Love. “We do, fundamentally, believe there should be a wider provision of swimming instruction.”

Lifesaving Society Manitoba is a willing partner, should governments or others sign on. It also wants the Swim to Survive program to be taught in all Manitoba elementary schools.

The program instructs people how to survive an unexpected fall in deep water.

“That would serve some of the need,” said Love.

The St. James-Assiniboia School Division provides Swim to Survive lessons to its Grade 3 students. It also runs an adaptive swim program for students with additional needs.

The program uses its own instructors in a city-run pool.

“Even more than ever, it’s an important program for us,” said J.J. Ross, the division’s co-ordinator of physical and health education, noting the lack of lesson spaces in the city.

The Winnipeg School Division, in partnership with the city, runs an education program called Swimming Counts for its Grade 4 students.

Three of the four sessions are held in a pool.

“It will continue because it may be one of the only opportunities students have to learn about water safety,” said WSD acting director Tony Marchione.

The province didn’t say if it is open to making water safety part of the public education curriculum nor if it would support a permanent program tailored to newcomers.

Education Minister Wayne Ewasko said Usaid’s death reminds all Manitobans of the importance of water safety.

“One death or one injury is always one too many,” Ewasko said in a statement. “Our thoughts and condolences are with the family.”

Usaid was a student in the Seine River School Division, where extra counsellors were brought in Monday to help pupils and staff, said Supt. Ryan Anderson.

He said the division has a Swim Safe program, which students are required to take before any school trips or events that involve water.

While individual situations vary, a variety of barriers can prevent newcomers from accessing lessons or visiting a pool, said Joseph.

“If we teach them, they can teach others,” he said. “When we have more trained newcomers, you will see more newcomers learning to swim.”–Mathew Joseph

The main ones include cost, language and a lack of transportation.

Joseph believes free lessons or mandatory lessons in schools would help to bridge the gap.

A shortage of lifeguards and instructors has led to a lack of lesson spaces, he noted.

City spokesman Adam Campbell said the city is working to remove barriers and improve safety through partnerships with cultural-based organizations, subsidized fees or credits for facility passes and swimming lessons and multilingual advertisements.

In April, the city held its first annual water safety and drowning prevention event.

IRCOM, which once organized swimming lessons for new immigrants, is working with the city to hold water-safety information sessions, Joseph said.

Lifesaving Society Manitoba holds presentations for newcomers in English as a Second Language courses. The organization is translating its education materials into additional languages.

Water Smart presentations are held in schools upon request, said Love.

Additional funding would be needed to expand access to water-safety education.

Potential sources could include governments, foundations or other private donors, said Love.

At a grassroots level, the Winnipeg Newcomer Sport Academy arranges swimming lessons and education trips to lakes for children who are referred to the organization.

About 70 children are taking part in eight weeks of lessons that began in March, said founder Carolyn Trono.

“We do everything we can to reduce barriers,” she said.

Trono agreed there is a need for more programs and more efforts to eliminate barriers for newcomers. Some newcomer families don’t know where to find lessons nor how early they are required to register, she said.

This year, the academy started a learn-to-swim program for about 15 Muslim women and girls, providing a safe and comfortable space to build their confidence, at the Aqua Essence Swim Academy.

The YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg is offering a similar program with the Aurora Family Therapy Centre.

About 24 women are taking a six-week Swim to Survive program that began earlier this month, said aquatic program specialist Andrea Usackis.

“We do everything we can to reduce barriers.”–Carolyn Trono, Winnipeg Newcomer Sport Academy

Downtown-based Newcomers Employment and Education Development Services offered free Swim to Survive lessons prior to the pandemic.

This summer, it’s hosting safety presentations for children. The organization refers families to agencies or services that can help.

“We are working with families to bridge those gaps,” said Alejandra Cano, a service delivery manager with NEEDS.

The province did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesman for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada requested additional time to respond to questions about topics such as funding.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching