Portable swimming pool boosts water skills of young rural Maori

A new portable swimming pool, gifted to Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ) by New Zealand Post, is being rotated around rural centres over the next five years as part of a programme to boost the water safety skills of Maori youth.

The pool - measuring roughly 10 x 5 metres - holds 50,000 litres of water when in use, and has detachable marquees which allow it to be used come rain or shine. It caters for up to 40 students at a time and can be heated to 28 degrees Celsius, providing an ideal environment for teaching.

Its portability provides a solution to one of the main issues affecting the water safety skills of rural Maori; a lack of access to suitable, cost effective facilities that are appropriate for water safety education.

Once the pool is set up at a rural Kura Kaupapa, access will be provided to as many surrounding Kura as possible and to other members of the community to ensure maximum use of the resource. Then, in time, the pool will move on to the next location thus living up to the 'portable' part of its name.

In the months ahead the pool will be moved to appropriate locations in the Waikato, the Bay of Plenty, East Coast/Tairawhiti and Hawke's Bay.

WSNZ Chief Executive Matt Claridge explains "this is a new way of doing things, which will enable us to teach water safety and survival skills in locations where aquatic facilities are inaccessible or unsuitable for education.

"Maori consistently rate as one of New Zealand's most 'at-risk' groups in terms of drowning fatalities. This portable pool will encourage their safe enjoyment of water-based activities. Ultimately we hope that efforts such as this will help to make a dent in the high annual drowning toll among Maori."

New Zealand Post's head of sponsorship, Nicola Airey, says they're delighted to be able to assist with the provision of such a practical and important resource, adding "this portable pool is a great addition to 'Kia Maanu, Kia Ora! (Stay Afloat, Stay Alive)' - our partnership with WSNZ to provide water safety and survival education to young Maori.

"The Kia Maanu, Kia Ora campaign focuses on providing young Maori with the skills to educate Whanau, Iwi and members of the Maori community on staying safe while enjoying their traditional and cultural links with the water.

"This isn't simply a case of making a pool available and hoping people learn. Our partners in this campaign, Water Safety New Zealand will be tracking the progress of young Maori to ensure that their skill levels are rising."

The portable pool swung into service on Thursday 1st November with a powhiri ceremony at Kura Kaupapa Maori in Port Waikato.

For more information go to www.watersafety.org.nz/

13th January 2012 - WATER SAFETY CAMPAIGN TARGETS HIGH MAORI DROWNING RATES 

20th May 2011 - MANUKAU SWIM PROGRAM DELIVERS 200,000 FREE LESSONS

4th November 2009 - SCHOOL SWIMMING POOL CLOSURES RISING 

27th May 2009 - NOT ENOUGH POOLS TO STAY AFLOAT 

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