Some women have gone to being so fearful of water they were afraid to get in the pool to being able to put their head beneath the surface, thanks to a program that was a first for the Illawarra.
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The 10-week program was the idea of Warrawong Community Hub leader Farah Alashhab, who identified a lack of such services catered to women from culturally diverse backgrounds.
With the assistance of the Royal Life Saving Society of NSW and funding from Figtree Sports, a 10-week program for 30 women was delivered through McKeon's Swim School.
Some of the participants never had the opportunity to learn to swim, but others had experienced profoundly traumatic events associated with water.
By the time the last lesson was held this month, there had been a significant change.
"What we've been able to achieve with these women was far beyond what I could have imagined and expected," Ms Alashhab said.
McKeon's supervisor and instructor Geraldine Kafer was there from the first lesson.
"The difference between these women coming in... extremely nervous, extremely shy, learning to get into the pool in the first place - it was a big hurdle for some of them... so from day one to now, is a huge improvement," Ms Kafer said.
"We've got some of the women actually putting their faces in, kicking with kickboards, starting to float... then we've got a few of the other girls that are starting to do laps."
Not only did the women learn new and life-saving skills, they also had fun and made new connections with other people.
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"They were coming into the program feeling nervous about swimming, because most of them were beginners, and they walked out feeling like, 'I've got basic skills in water and I can potentially take this back to my family, and we can go on the weekend to the beach, we can go on a hot sunny day to the local pools, we can do more because I've gained more skills, that I'm no longer in a constant state of fear around the water'," Ms Alashhab said.
As an instructor, Ms Kafer said she got a lot of enjoyment from seeing the women's progress.
The program also covered off general water safety knowledge, such as swimming between the flags at the beach.
McKeon's general manager Greg Crawford said the business supported the program and was committed to helping it continue.
"Learning to swim and water safety... it's an essential life skill, so being able to open these programs up to all demographics, all different backgrounds, is amazing," Mr Crawford said.
Ms Alashhab now hopes to secure more funding to deliver the program again next year, giving these women the opportunity to build on their newfound skills and hopefully become confident swimmers.
"We're bridging a gap, we're creating knowledge and skills for women that wouldn't have had opportunity to do this," she said.
Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
