NSRI Water Safety Programmes

December 2024 - while visiting family in Kuruman, Reagan Gellant received a phone call that no parent should have – his nine-year-old son suffered a non-fatal drowning incident at Meiringspoort and was being rushed to the hospital. Reagan later learned that his son’s life had been saved by a doctor who happened to be at the scene and could administer emergency care on the spot.

“I never thought something so tragic would happen to my family or me,” Reagan says. “You always hear about these things in the media and sometimes here in my community. But it was only then that I realised the importance of water safety.”

A Father’s Vision Becomes a Community Mission

The ordeal made Reagan acutely aware of how easily the outcome could have been different. His thoughts turned to the children in his hometown, many of whom grow up around rivers, dams and municipal pools, yet never learn how to stay safe in the water.

What if more of them had access to swimming lessons? How many lives could be saved?

Motivated by those questions, Reagan reached out for help. After being referred to the NSRI, he contacted Caville Abrahams, NSRI’s Team and Projects Coordinator for Community Programmes.

“From day one, we clicked,” Reagan recalls. “I told Caville about what happened to my son and the idea I had to start something that could benefit my community. Caville immediately confirmed that the NSRI could help make this idea a reality.”

Building the Dysselsdorp Survival Swimming Programme

Together, Reagan and Caville set to work establishing a much-needed Survival Swimming Programme in Dysselsdorp.

“Many people assume drowning mainly occurs at the coast, but a significant number of incidents happen in inland communities,” Caville says. “In areas like Dysselsdorp, there is often limited access to supervised swimming environments and a lack of water safety awareness.”

The next step was to find local educators and community members willing to train as facilitators. With strong backing from local schools and support from the municipality to use the community pool, the programme began taking shape. Training started in March 2025, guided by the NSRI’s national standards.

“Facilitator training begins with safeguarding measures, including background checks,” Caville explains. “Then candidates complete theoretical and practical components, such as swimming 50 metres, retrieving a mannequin from a depth of 1.5m, and performing a rescue with a buoy. It ensures facilitators teach survival skills safely and effectively.”

By December 2025, the first group of facilitators – ordinary people stepping forward to make extraordinary change – completed their certification.

A Ripple Effect of Hope

The response has been deeply encouraging. “Parents regularly come to schools to ask when their children will be part of the programme,” Reagan says. “I even receive WhatsApp and Facebook messages from parents asking about it.”

The programme has just wrapped up its first season. Among local learners, growing water confidence is clear, but the ripple effect reaches even further. It has sparked conversations about safety, capacity building, and empowerment.

Keeping Momentum Alive

While the first season marks a milestone, sustainability remains vital. Continued community involvement, access to training facilities, and strong local partnerships will help ensure its long-term success.

“Local ownership is essential,” Caville says. “Individuals like Mr Gellant play a vital role in driving this forward.”

For Reagan, the journey has been transformative. “I hope that every child in our community can be water safe and equipped to help someone who finds themselves in a difficult situation,” he says.

“If one can identify a need in your community, one can also create a solution. Stakeholders need each other, and they can achieve so much more if they support one another.”

From one family’s close call has come a community solution – one that empowers, educates and protects. The Dysselsdorp Survival Swimming Programme stands as proof that courage and compassion can turn tragedy into progress and save lives for generations to come.

Links:

• NSRI launches Survival Swimming in Dusselsdorp

On 8 December, the still waters of Elandsberg Dam rippled with laughter, courage, and determination. It was the National Sea Rescue Institute’s annual survival swimming exercise for children who graduated from the Riebeek Kasteel Survival Swimming Centre – a day when safety met community spirit and young learners put the lessons they had practised in a container pool to the test in a dam.

The event, which brought together NSRI volunteers, police divers, and the local farm community in a partnership built on trust and prevention, was filled with gratitude for those who teach, those who protect, and those who learn.

From Container to Dam

For many children in the Boland, swimming in open water is part of life but also carries unseen risks. NSRI Survival Swimming Instructor, Petro Meyer, designed the Elandsberg Dam exercise to help them face those challenges with confidence. “Last year I selected seven learners who have already mastered the four techniques of survival swimming we teach,” she explains. “We took them from the safe environment of the container to the dam with cold water, where they cannot see the bottom, to test them and see if they can apply the techniques we have taught them.”

The four techniques Survival Swimming Instructors teach are breathing, orientation, floating, and moving to a safe place. Together they form a simple but vital plan.

“Anybody can drown. Nobody should,” she says. “Our goal is to create a new culture to make people think differently about being safe around and in the water. Be responsible and remember, don’t panic, plan.”

Building Confidence in the Water

Each year, the Elandsberg exercise is about turning knowledge into calm and practical action. “In the Boland, it gets very hot, and the children go swimming in dams without parental supervision,” Petro says. “With survival swimming, we teach them how to help themselves if they get into trouble in the water.”

The training began gently. Instructors Mariette Gregor, Desiré Whiting, and Jennifer Kentgens guided each child into the dam using pool noodles, helping them adjust to the unfamiliar temperature and depth. Police divers stretched safety ropes across the water to secure the area. Warrant Officer Allister Boer from the Water Policing and Diving Services unit demonstrated how to use the pink rescue buoy that now stands beside the dam as a symbol of remembrance and safety after a tragic drowning some years ago.

The Strength of Community

For Petro, collaboration is key to preventing drownings. “A few years ago, after a little girl drowned in the dam, local farmer Mike Gregor contacted me, and we went to put up a pink rescue buoy at the dam. The community didn’t know what to do to save her. Just explaining to them the basic practical steps can make a huge difference.”

That act of remembrance became the start of an ongoing partnership. When NSRI installed the Survival Swimming Centre in 2022, residents immediately offered to help. “Mariette, Mike’s wife, called me immediately and offered her help and brought some of her friends with her,” Petro recalls. The police divers have also become valued allies. “They see it as better to prevent a child from drowning,” Petro says. “They share wonderful information with the children, and the children look up to them.”

A Lesson in Determination

Every year has a defining moment of courage, and this time it belonged to 14-year-old Lee Hano. After completing the initial drills, Lee asked if he could swim across the dam. With two police divers at his side, he crossed the width and back, using the pink buoy only twice. “Seeing his face after he finished, it was priceless,” Petro says. “That was another lesson learned. Remember, you can’t swim for long periods at a time and never swim alone.”

The workers who joined the training also found inspiration. “They were amazed at how easy it is to help someone who is in trouble in the water,” Petro reflects. “I believe that they spread the word to the entire farm community. All of them want us to teach them to swim now.”

Creating a Safer Future

Every breath, stroke, and smile at Elandsberg Dam speaks to the same message of hope and safety. Through the dedication of volunteers, police officers, and families, NSRI continues to build a culture that values calm thinking and self-rescue skills.

Elandsberg Dam, once touched by tragedy, now echoes with laughter and learning. As 2025 came to a close, the NSRI team ended the year with full hearts, proud of the children they taught and confident in the safety skills spreading through their community.

Links:

• https://www.nsri.org.za/2026/01/courage-and-collaboration-at-elandsberg-dam/