Over the past week more than 40 newly arrived Australians, as young as 5, have participated in the Western Bulldogs water safety program delivered through the Club’s Settlement Grants Program (SGP).
Learning to swim is an important part of Australia’s culture and a key safety concern for newly arrived refugees and migrants many of who have number come to Australia from landlocked countries and refugee camps with no prior swimming experience.
The SGP Swimming Program is just one of the many Bulldog’s initiatives that help newly arrived migrants and refugees to successfully integrate into Australian communities as well as teaching them essential life skills.
Now under the auspice of Aquatics and Recreation Victoria’s VICSWIM Cultural Program and supported by Hobsons Bay City Council, the SGP Swimming Program has become a regular fixture in the school holidays at the Laverton Swim and Fitness Centre for the local migrant and refugee families.
The Western Bulldogs community programs offer more than just an opportunity for people to be engaged in football and their local community.
Through programs such as the SGP the Club provides an opportunity for newly arrived Australians, children and youth in particular, to learn skills for life through sport.
Our Learning for Life philosophy is highly evident in the Bulldogs Swimming Program, funded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
From the program’s inception in 2007 over 400 participants have been taught essential water safety skills with nine participants going on to receive their VICSWIM Austswim certificates enabling them to transition from students to swimming teachers.
Three more young adults are currently training to become swim teachers in the VICSWIM Austswim Program fostering in the next wave of bilingual swim teachers to assist with the program.
