The need for Water Safety Education is obvious if we consider the drowning statistics in our country. Rural underserved communities in particular are vulnerable to drownings in farm dams, rivers and streams. Without formal swimming skills people too often find themselves in trouble.
The NSRI’s programme presents an effective Water Safety curriculum to create awareness about the dangers of water, what to do if someone gets into trouble, how to help a friend in need, how to perform bystander CPR and who to call for help.
Today the NSRI has 21 full-time instructors who visit schools and clubs around the country and teach people about water-safety issues – using colourful teaching materials and a mannequin to demonstrate bystander CPR. The lessons are designed to fit into a normal school schedule, are presented in a fun and interactive way, are age-appropriate and delivered in the mother tongue of the learners.
Since the programme started in 2006 we have taught over 3 million people. In 2017 the NSRI’s Water Safety Education programme received international recognition as the proud runner up for an Outstanding Team Contribution in the International Maritime Rescue Federation awards.
It costs R15 per child for a Water Safety lesson. Please help.
The NSRI has three core Drowning Prevention programmes – Water Safety Education, Pink Rescue Buoys and Survival Swimming – and offers a range of free resources and educational materials.
To date, over 3 million people, predominantly primary-school learners, have been taught water safety skills.
“Learning Water Safety and peer-rescue skills such as CPR and basic rescue techniques from a young age can help save a life! Always remember, drowning is silent.”
Every year on 25 July, World Drowning Prevention Day draws global attention to a simple but powerful message: drowning is preventable.
When floodwaters rise, rescuers face an environment that can change in seconds. Water moves with relentless force, familiar landscapes disappear beneath it, and hazards are often hidden below the surface.
When someone steps forward to help in an emergency, the quality of their training can make all the difference. For the NSRI, ensuring that volunteers, crew members and communities receive the highest standard of first aid training has always been a priority.
The NSRI is celebrating the women who serve across its rescue stations, swimming pools, classrooms and beaches, ahead of Women's Day on 9 August. From volunteer sea rescue crew to survival swimming instructors, shore controllers and Pink Rescue Buoy custodians, women play a vital role in building safer communities along South Africa's coastline and inland waters.
This Mandela Day, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) is honouring our more than 1 500 volunteers who give their time to keep South Africans safe in and around water, every day of the year.
NSRI Represents SA at Global Drowning Prevention Workshop
