In the last days of May, the weather in Ninh Binh began to enter a period of intense heat.
After school hours, many children often invite each other to ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, and canals to swim and play to cool down, posing many potential safety risks.
Ninh Binh is a locality with a dense system of rivers, ponds and lakes, many residential areas are located near natural water sources. In rural areas, it is not difficult to encounter deep water points without barriers or dangerous warning signs.
According to records, most child drowning accidents often occur during summer vacation, when students lack the supervision of their families and schools.
Worryingly, many children have not learned to swim, do not have skills to handle incidents underwater or safe rescue skills.
Ms. Bui Thi Hong - Principal of Gia Tran B Primary School (Ninh Binh province) - said that currently many parents are still subjective, thinking that children who know how to play with water know how to swim. In fact, many children only know how to float or swim instinctively, and are very easily panicked when encountering accidents in deep water and strong currents.
There are students who have not been able to access swimming classes because of economic conditions or living areas without suitable swimming pools. During summer vacation, they often gather to swim in rivers and lakes, so the risk is very high," Ms. Hong shared.
Faced with the above situation, many localities in Ninh Binh have begun to implement swimming literacy programs and drowning prevention skills for students.
Ms. Pham Thi Hang Nga - Vice Chairwoman of Gia Tran Commune People's Committee - said that the Commune People's Committee has coordinated with primary schools in the area to organize swimming literacy programs and drowning prevention skills for students.
At the programs, students are guided on water safety skills such as wearing life jackets properly, floating techniques, surfing, hand-foot coordination and handling skills when in danger.
The commune government will support 50% of the funding to organize swimming classes for students. In the immediate future, we prioritize 4th and 5th grade students. Teaching swimming not only helps children train physically but is also an important solution to limit drowning accidents during the summer" - Ms. Nga shared.
In order to strengthen drowning prevention for children during the summer and upcoming rainy and storm season, on May 20, Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 3294/UBND-VP6 on strengthening the work of preventing and combating accidents, injuries and preventing and combating drowning for children during the summer and rainy and storm season.
The Provincial People's Committee requests heads of departments, agencies, branches, and mass organizations; Chairmen of People's Committees of communes and wards to proactively implement strict measures to prevent and minimize accidents, injuries and drowning in children. At the same time, strictly and promptly handle violations of ensuring safety for children in accordance with the law.
