The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union chapter in Ca Mau Province is using rivers, lakes, and even shrimp ponds to teach local children how to swim as part of an iniative to reduce drowning in the region.

Nearly 1,000 children have joined the 32 free swimming courses on offer in Ca Mau this summer, Nguyen Hoang Dao, secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union chapter in Ca Mau, said on Monday.

Though Ca Mau, located in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, is dominated by a network of rivers and waterways, there are relatively few swimming pools in the province and, therefore, an endemic lack of critical swimming skills, particularly amongst the local youth.

“We’re determined to teach local kids how to swim this summer," Dao said.

“In areas without any swimming pools, members of the Youth Union have been teaching swimming skills in rivers and shrimp ponds."

He added that his organization evaluated the safety of the shrimp ponds before putting them to use as makeshift swimming pools.

Lieu Bich Tien, a resident of Nguyen Huan Commune in Dam Doi District, said that she is thankful for the lessons because she does not know how to swim and cannot teach her children how to keep safe in the water.

“Living in this river-dominated area, I worry for my kids’ safety every day," Tien said.

“I’m truly happy my kids can learn how to swim for free thanks to the Youth Union members.”

Aside from offering free swimming courses, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union chapter teamed up with other organizations to conduct summer activities and gift life jackets to local children worth a total of VND300 million (US$12,625).

They also launched another program for children and their parents to practice water safety and drowning prevention skills.

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