Swimmers graduate from Y.W.C.A. classes
With less than two weeks of vacation left for most Belizean school children, families are beginning to make the transition from holiday mode to the discipline of formal education. Today, in one last burst of fun, one of the city’s best known summer programmes graduated its latest squadron of swimmers.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
The elementary backstroke is just one of many different swimming techniques over two hundred children learned to do this summer at the Y.W.C.A. Since the programme started in 1995, its popularity has grown tremendously and hundreds of people both young and old now know how to have a safe and good time in the water.
Sonia Linares, General Secretary, Y.W.C.A.
“It has been wonderful. We have been able to teach so many children to swim. We have been able to train so many young people in the area of life guarding and swim instructors and the community as a whole on basic water safety; all those, you know who participated in the Y.W.C.A. swim programme.”
More than half of the children who participated in this year’s session could not afford the programme, but were still able to go because of generous sponsorship by Belize Water Services Limited. This morning, the boys and girls who learned how to swim received their certificates.
Jacqueline Woods
“Everett you basically knew how to swim when you came to the Y, so you just attended this class to improve your skills. So tell us, how was it?”
Everett Morrison, 12 years old
“It was fine and okay to be with those other students, to meet new friends and so on.”
Jacqueline Woods
“What did you learn?”
Everett Morrison, 12 years old
“I learn how to do back glide, front glide, the jellyfish float, back glide with kick, front glide with kick, front glide with kick and I learn how to do hand over hand.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Kimberly it was that you attended the Y swimming programme. Why did you decide to join?”
Kimberly Card, 14 years old
“Because it was really hot and I needed to cool off and two, I wanted to learn how to dive and do more techniques.”
Jacqueline Woods
“And you learn all of that?”
Kimberly Card
“Yes.”
But as these boys and girls talk about what they mastered and the good times they had, its uncertain how many more children will be able to have that same experience. For the past couple of years, the Y.W.C.A. has been operating the swimming classes at a loss and had to access funds from its other services to meet expenses.
It cost the organization five thousand dollars a month just to maintain the pool and according to the Y.W.C.A.’s General Secretary, Sonia Linares, they have been able to manage through fees and community support. Today that support is dwindling and if it’s not revived the swimming programme may be in danger of sinking.
Sonia Linares
“Since the last two years, we found that we are not generating enough funds to be able to pay all our bills. We feel that it is important if we have a pool to maintain the pool properly and we have done so. Our water quality is one of the best, our pool attendant, our lifeguard-we try to make sure that whatever we do, we do it well and this cost money and now we have problems paying especially our utility bills, which is very, very high because of the pumps that we use and we have to back wash to make sure that the pool is kept in proper order. So it has been rather difficult for us.”
Linares says they are relying on the generosity of the people and the business community to keep the programme afloat.
