The 'Speedo Swim N Survive' launch at the JP Park Swimming Pool at Mathikere, Bangalore, commenced with a demonstration of basic life-saving skills performed by experts from Rashtriya Lifesaving Society, India (RLSSI), the activation partner to the program, providing an idea on the nature and objective of the campaign. The demonstration with children from the neighbourhood communities consisted of different activities such as floating, sculling, recovery of an object from underwater and other basic lifesaving skills that will educated the participants on how to save their own and another's life.
Guest of honour at the event was Manoj, a brave thirteen year old boy from Bangalore, whose heart warming tale of saving a woman from drowning last year was highlighted as he shared, in a candid conversation, his experience, while emphasizing on the importance of safety in water.
The 'Speedo Swim N Survive' campaign is an attempt by the leading international swimwear brand Speedo and is implemented in partnership with Rashtriya Life Saving Society (India), an NGO working towards the cause of saving lives in water. The program is designed and executed in order to promote swimming as a life-saving skill apart from the usual perception of it being a sport or hobby.
Speaking on the initiative, Ankur Sharma, Business Head, Speedo India said "Speedo internationally has always honed respect for water and shall continue to encourage individuals to do so at all levels of society. As an organization that plays an integral role in communities of water globally, we believe that basic lifesaving skills in water can act as a catalyst to societal change."
"Learning basic swim skills and life saving techniques is the need of the hour in a country like India, where we lose an astonishing number of lives to the understated perils of water. Working with communities for the last fifteen years, we believe that while training children to adopt internationally acclaimed best practices to ensure water safety, we create an opportunity for them to build careers as lifeguards or swim coaches. We also work towards increasing community participation by providing them access to safe and hygienic facilities," said Gurvinder Singh, CEO, Rashtriya Life Saving Society (India).
A premier initiative conceptualized by Speedo and implemented by RSSI in partnership with the Association for Voluntary Action and Service (AVAS) and Dwarkanath Reddy Institute of Knowledge (DRIK), the launch of the 'Speedo Swim N Survive' programme, is aimed at providing knowledge about basic lifesaving skills, committing to make India a safer country. The program is also part of 'International Inspiration', the charity set up to continue London 2012's pledge to reach and inspire millions of children around the world through sport.
