Quảng Trị schools fight child drowning with free swimming lessons

Quảng Trị Province is stepping up efforts to teach children swimming and drowning prevention skills as summer nears. Schools across the region have added water safety lessons to their curricula and extracurricular programmes. The move aims to reduce child drowning incidents, a leading cause of death among young people in the area. Quán Hầu Primary School has long prioritised drowning prevention. Pupils there learn about the causes and risks of drowning, how to spot dangerous water areas, and basic swimming techniques. The school also includes emergency response training in its lessons. Thanks to these measures, it has recorded no drowning incidents among pupils for many years in a row.

The Safe Swimming - Swim for Life project has played a key role in these efforts. It has taught over 5,000 children in the province to swim for free. The initiative has also educated more than 22,000 pupils on water safety and installed warning signs and communication boards near risky areas.

At Đồng Phú Junior Secondary School, drowning prevention activities are organised with support from social groups and local authorities. Lê Thị Hương, the principal of Quán Hầu Primary School, noted that pupils gain more than just swimming skills. They also develop a strong sense of self-protection. Đoàn Thị Tình Thương, another school leader, emphasised that drowning remains a top concern for educators in the region. The combined efforts of schools and local projects have expanded access to swimming and water safety education. Over 5,000 children have learned to swim at no cost, while thousands more have received critical safety training. These measures have helped prevent drowning incidents among pupils in Quảng Trị Province.