Sailfish Swim Club leads water safety drive for Drowning Prevention Day

Sailfish Swim Club Kampala, in collaboration with Fit Life Solutions and Swim Safe Uganda, organised a two-day Drowning Prevention Program held from Wednesday to Thursday this week. 

The program drew more than 100 swimmers from sailfish swim club, who were trained in basic water safety and lifesaving techniques in anticipation of World Drowning Prevention Day this Friday, July 25.

According to Joseph Kabogoza, Head Coach of Sailfish Swim Club, the initiative was driven by the need to go beyond competitive swimming.

“We train some of the best swimmers in the country, but it is important that they also know how to save lives, possibly even their own in water emergencies,” he noted.

Allan Kiiza, another instructor involved in the program, emphasized that being a skilled swimmer does not necessarily mean one is prepared for a drowning situation. “Knowing how to swim is not enough. You need to know what to do when someone else is in trouble or when you are,” he explained.

Among those who appreciated the initiative was Master Swimmer Allan Munaabi, who described the training as both timely and essential. “Swimming should not be viewed as a luxury,” he said. “It’s a survival skill. Every Ugandan regardless of age or background should make it a point to learn how to swim.”

As Uganda joins the rest of the world to observe World Drowning Prevention Day, the message is clear: swimming can no longer be seen as just a sport or a pastime. It is a tool for survival.

As the world prepares to mark World Drowning Prevention Day this Friday, July 25, Uganda will join the global effort to raise awareness about the silent epidemic of drowning. Despite the country's abundant water bodies, rivers, lakes, and swamps many Ugandans still lack basic water survival skills, a gap that continues to cost thousands of lives each year.

A survey report from Makerere University estimates that at least 3,000 Ugandans die annually due to drowning, a figure that experts say could be drastically reduced if swimming were embraced not just as a recreational activity, but as a critical life skill.

“Swimming is not just about leisure,” says Moses Kalanzi, a trainer with Swim Safe Uganda. “It is the first line of defense against drowning. You cannot die because you don’t know how to play football, but you can die because you don’t know how to swim.”