| |
| our mission |
| news |
| about us |
| our approach |
| where we work |
| donate |
| get involved |
| board of directors |
| contact us |
| links |
| News |
The Nassau Guardian ran an update on our program on September 30, 2009.
The Nassau Guardian feature story on Swim to Empower from June 22, 2009.
Archives:
Summer Update - July 2008 For the first 2 weeks of lessons the instructors alternated between Wemyss Bight and Deep Creek. Every Friday we gave the kids a chance to show off what they learned by doing relay races in the water, scavenger hunts on land and in water where they would have to find specific water creatures that we had discussed in our nature nuggets, and we also did relay races on land as well, doing things such as the crab walk and one-legged races! After our 2 weeks in Deep Creek and Wemyss Bight we did one week in Green Castle and Wemyss Bight. Unfortunately it was a rainy week so not too many lessons were carried out in GC, but Leila and Zane made the effort daily to spread the word about swim lessons and to make sure kids were interested in taking part next summer! Then we hitched up north for the 4th of July to spend the weekend with the northern instructors and to see Harbor Island and more pink sand beaches! We got a chance to watch fireworks from the docks on Harbor Island and meet some very interesting people who were sailing around the Caribbean! The experience up north was very different from that of the south, the look of the houses, the large number of yachts and international people made it very culturally different from the Bahamian feeling of Wemyss Bight and Deep Creek. After spending the weekend up North we hitched back south a bit to Tarpum Bay where we met Jonna, an American living in the Bahamas who has been busy setting up a library for the town, who coordinated our week-long stay in the area. She set us up with our very adorable house, which was conveniently located right on the beach. We were able to walk to our lessons everyday and had lots of interested kids who want next year's instructors to stay much longer than a week! We had a girl, Victoria who is about 13 years old who couldn't float before coming for lessons and by Friday she was doing every stroke but the butterfly! So, in all, it was a very enjoyable and worth while experience! We were even lucky enough to be asked to participate in the annual Junkanoo Parade which helps to celebrate the Bahamas Independence Day (July 10th), and this year was special because it was the 35th anniversary! Leila and Martha dressed up in very elaborate costumes and danced in front of the drummers, while Zane and Adam were drumming the bass drums in the back! It was great to be asked to be a part of one of the town's traditions. On Friday we got a ride back down to Wemyss Bight and got to unpack a bit and do some laundry. Sunday afternoon we were asked to Chantelle and Philip's for dinner which was the best meal we've had here so far! Chantelle cooked all day for us and made so much food that we had to take about half of it home, which we've been eating ever since! It's been really great to feel a part of this community and become true friends with its members. On Monday we had our last Sail Caribbean day where we brought 7 kids to the Island School and the Sail Caribbean students made up a PowerPoint slide show of all the fish and marine wildlife the kids were likely to see in the water here on Eleuthera. Then we got a chance to snorkel out to a shipwreck and see all of the fish and wildlife that we had seen on the slide show! Then we played games in the water and some volleyball and then got a ride home! It was a great way to spend the day with the kids and nobody wanted to leave! Since then we've been packing up and cleaning (a lot!) so that we can leave Chantelle's as clean as we found it. We will surely miss this place and most of all the kids, who have asked us again and again to come back next summer! Summer Update - June 2008 The lessons, including swimming and environmental education, will begin this Monday June 16 — the children's first week of the summer! We have booked two solid weeks of classes in Wemyss Bight and Deep Creek with both children and adults and are excited about the possibility of starting a pilot program for one week in Tarpum Bay later this July. A librarian in Tarpum Bay was so excited about the program, she has asked us to run a pilot program and already has a long list of people wanting to learn about swimming and the ocean! Our first days on the island have been filled with biking around the settlements, getting children and adults involved in the program (and also the occasional fishing and crabbing excursions with our new friends and neighbors!). We're looking forward to the swimming lessons in the next weeks. Summer Session - July 2007 Most lessons begin with a 'safety tip'--a small daily lesson about safety when swimming or in the water. These tips include swimming with a buddy, telling an adult where you will be, staying on a boat if an engine breaks down (rather than swimming to shore--a lesson on knowing your limits) and not swimming in storms. Then we also give a 'nature nugget' as Sally and Brenna have aptly named them. Nuggets cover topics like conch, over-fishing, the geography of Eleuthera, and tides. Swimmers are excited to recite facts they have learned earlier in the week, and enjoy a mean competition when quizzed... We've been working with all skill levels to improve basic strokes as well as correct technique. Students begin by learning to float on their backs. This skill falls under the greater goal of being relaxed in the water--turns out approaching this new horizon is the cause of alot of physical tension! Our younger students then learn the elementary backstroke, a generally easy transition from the calm of floating into the excitement of swimming. Adults advance straight to breastroke or the front crawl, in order to maximize utility with limited class time. A big challenge for many students is putting their face in the water and learning to breath--we've seen more than a few gasping, elated, shocked, and awed faces the first time a student is able to fully submerge their face in the water and see the world beneath its surface through goggle lenses. For some, this is as far as the lessons take them. For more advanced or eager students, we have focused on breathing techniques and speed, advancing to longer independent swims over distance. Adult lessons begin with the same floating skill, as it brings so much reward for the effort. From there, students progress to the front crawl and swimming with confidence, with special emphasis on swimming as exercise. Rainy days plagued our first week in Eluthera, but we were able to take advantage of the time by hosting a first aid clinic for our swimmers. Students learned prevention and basic care for victims of burns, cuts, dehydration, and choaking, and made posters about what they learned to hang in their middle school. Students also visited us in our apartments to color pictures about their favorite things about the Bahamas; the artwork now cheers our refrigerator. We've made a particularly challenging game of Jeopardy about first aid, marine biology, and the Bahamas in anticipation of any future rain dates. Last Saturday brought the culmination of a much-planned event with the U.S.-based Sail Caribbean. Twelve high-school students experiencing one of Sail Caribbean's 3-week sessions at the Island School helped plan a Sail Caribbean-meets-STE afternoon. Eleven students from Deep Creek traveled by bus to the Island School for the afternoon, where they worked with a Sail Caribbean partner to improve swimming skills. Sail Caribbean donated masks and snorkels to the program, and the students and their partners explored the sea, turning up many live conch, sea snails, starfish, and sponges. Sail Caribbean instructors taught a small lesson about reef balls and protecting marine diversity. We culminated the afternoon in an epic, exhausting game of capture-the-flag. While living in Deep Creek, the four of us have enjoyed many largely-portioned meals with the large-hearted community. I'm looking forward to our refrigerator of leftover crab and rice as I write this. We've been invited into local churches to enjoy services with our students, and have had mango-picking lessons from kids we meet while riding through the town. Long runs in the early mornings bring us to deserted beaches and uninterrupted sunrises, and last night's crabbing adventure provided three new pets. Some of our favorite moments have included the sounds of walking away from lessons, listening to our students pass on what they've learned to other eager swimmers. Their sharing of their new skill affirms the impact of our classes, and re-inforces the student's own understanding of what they've learned. Lessons are constantly interrupted by onlooker's shouts of 'teach me!' 'I want to learn too!" Community leaders have offered up their resources, from telephones to baked goods. A friend of the program, TJ, has sheltered two of our instructors through more than one rainstorm, and even entertained us with a live musical performance to pass the time. We've traded lessons for fresh basil, and been given gifts of fresh-baked bread. One student, Dinero, has learned the butterfly, and insists on demonstrating it at every opportunity. His huge eyes open as wide as his mouth when he comes up for air, and the whole performance ends with an even bigger smile. A big highlight of the Sail Caribbean day was watching our Deep Creek students bond with their American partners. Our students took great pride in showing their strokes off to their new friends. The students of Green Castle have dislpayed equal enthusiasm. Rodrick and Justin walk several miles every day, accompanied by a convoy of mother and siblings, just to take a swimming lesson. Each student's world has, in one way are another, become bigger as they strap on their goggles. The summer has allowed them to look beyond their televisions and into the wonder of the sea that is their very own backyard. |
|
|
|
