How the NSRI Used World Drowning Prevention Day 2026 to Share Life-saving Skills Across SA

Every year on 25 July, World Drowning Prevention Day draws global attention to a simple but powerful message: drowning is preventable.

Preventing drowning, however, takes more than a single day of awareness. It takes knowledge, practical skills and communities that know how to act when it matters most.

This year, the NSRI used World Drowning Prevention Day to put those tools into the hands of thousands of South Africans.

Across the country, Community Programmes instructors and volunteers took drowning-prevention education into schools, swimming pools, libraries, beaches and communities. From Survival Swimming and CPR to flood safety and Pink Rescue Buoys, the campaign showed that there are many ways to help save a life – and everyone can play a part.

Taking Water Safety Where It Is Needed

The campaign reached far beyond South Africa's coastline, recognising that drowning risks exist wherever there is water.

In Limpopo, Thembalakhe Maphumulo coordinated Water Safety Education across five schools in Modimolle, reaching an impressive 4 234 learners. Children learned to identify water hazards, behave safely around rivers, dams and swimming areas, and seek adult assistance in an emergency. Importantly, they were encouraged to take those lessons home and share them with their families and communities.

In the Free State, the learning moved from the classroom to the water. Following a Water Safety Awareness Day at Lehutso Public School in Zamdela, 14 children took part in a practical Survival Swimming session. Under the guidance of instructors, they worked on skills including orientation in the water, breath control and floating.

Similar initiatives unfolded in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the Western Cape, adapting the message to the risks and needs of each community.

Different Communities, Different Risks

Drowning prevention is not only about knowing how to swim. Sometimes, it is knowing when not to enter the water at all.

In Buffalo City, Community Programmes Instructor Siyabulela Mlenze led an extensive campaign focused on seasonal flooding, stormwater and flooded roads. Through schools, community engagements and educational resources, 2 986 people were reached directly. Thousands more encountered flood-safety messages broadcast hourly across nine Shoprite stores.

The campaign reinforced practical messages such as the 15 cm Pedestrian Rule and 30 cm Vehicle Rule, along with a potentially lifesaving reminder: “When in doubt, turn around!”

Another important step was taken at North End Lake in Nelson Mandela Bay, where the first publicly accessible Pink Rescue Buoys were installed. The initiative expands access to basic rescue equipment to assist bystanders while emergency services are on their way.

Skills That Travel Beyond 25 July

At Phakamani Primary School in Soweto, learners and educators participated in Water Safety Education, CPR and Pink Rescue Buoy demonstrations. At Humewood Beach in Gqeberha, members of the public were invited to practise CPR and learn peer-rescue techniques. In George, a school was deliberately selected because of previous drownings in nearby dams and rivers to participate in three Water Safety Education presentations.

Each activation looked different, but together they told the same story: drowning prevention works best when people are given practical knowledge they can carry with them.

That is what makes World Drowning Prevention Day more than a date on the calendar. A child who learns to float can use that skill long after 25 July. A parent who learns CPR may one day know what to do in an emergency. A learner who understands the danger of floodwater can pass that message on to a friend.

Through partnerships with schools, municipalities, rescue stations, community organisations, volunteers, businesses and the media, the NSRI's 2026 campaign helped those lessons travel even further.