The Australian Government and the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) have partnered to provide water-safety education and survival-swimming lessons to children in Gauteng, the Free State, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.
Australian High Commission officials joined the NSRI’s Community Programmes team and local learners on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, to observe lessons.
Funded through the Australian Government’s Direct Aid Program, the initiative aims to teach water safety to 30,000 children and provide practical survival-swimming training to a further 1,000.
The programme focuses on inland communities where children may encounter rivers, dams and swimming pools without access to formal swimming lessons.
In the classroom sessions, instructors taught learners how to identify water-related dangers, make safer decisions, call for emergency assistance and help someone in trouble without putting themselves at risk when in the water.
The practical lessons focused on four survival skills: breath control, orientation in the water, floating and moving at least five metres to safety.
Mthetheleli Kweyama, the NSRI’s head of Community Programmes, said that every child should can learn how to stay safe around water.
“The practical skills they learn could one day save their lives,” Kweyama said.
James Majernik, First Secretary (Political) at the Australian High Commission in South Africa, said the partnership reflected shared commitments between the two countries.
“Australia and South Africa share a love of the water and a commitment to keeping children safe,” he said.
“Partnerships are essential to the NSRI’s work,” said Dirk Coetzee, NSRI's business development manager.
“Our partnership with the Australian Government shows what we can achieve together, helping more children gain skills that could save their lives.”
IOL