By XAVIER SMERDON
A GROUP of Hoppers Crossing swimming students will be taking to the water to try and raise vital funds for other children overseas.
Children from the Paul Sadler Swimland in Hoppers Crossing will be holding a swim-a-thon charity event to raise money to provide free swimming lessons for children in Vietnam.
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children over the age of one in Vietnam, and statistics from the Vietnam Ministry of Health show that at least 10 children drown in Vietnam every day.
The funds raised will go directly to Swim Vietnam, a charity organisation that not only provides free swimming lessons for children, but more importantly trains local Vietnamese adults as swimming teachers.
Paul Sadler Swimland founder, Paul Sadler, said he was proud to see young Swimland students band together to help raise funds that will ultimately help save the lives of children in Vietnam.
“It’s astounding to see the dedication of our students to this cause, not only sourcing sponsors for the event, but also their personal training to prepare,” Mr Sadler said.
“We have some students aiming to swim for up to two hours to help make a positive impact on the lives of children that are at such a higher risk around water.”
Paul Sadler Swimland has been a supporter of Swim Vietnam since 2012 when it helped fund the first swim survive centre in the country. Since then they have developed a teacher exchange program that has seen Paul Sadler Swimland share best practice and teaching methods across the country.
Since Swim Vietnam’s inception in 2008, over 4000 children have been taught to swim and over 90 adults have been trained as swimming teachers. Paul Sadler Swimland hopes to raise $10,000 for Swim Vietnam from the Swim-a-thon event.
