A child learns how to swim with the help of an instructor under the project 'Supporting the implementation of effective and sustainable measures for child drowning prevention' in Cần Thơ City. — VNA/VNS Photos Trung Kiên

CẦN THƠ — Many children growing up amid the waterways of the Mekong Delta face constant risks due to limited swimming skills, prompting a project to implement effective, sustainable child-drowning prevention measures.

The project 'Supporting the implementation of effective and sustainable measures for child drowning prevention' is taking place across several rural communes and wards in Cần Thơ City, one of the metropolises of the delta, bringing positive impacts on thousands of local children.

A free mobile swimming pool has been set up at the Lâm Tân Commune Health Station, attracting hundreds of children.

Every Saturday and Sunday morning, trained instructors guide young learners through basic swimming techniques.

Sơn Ngọc Thường, a swimming coach in Lâm Tân Commune, said lessons are designed with safety as the top priority. 

Children first learn how to enter and exit the pool and get used to the water before practising breathing, floating and then breaststroke. This swimming style takes longer to learn but allows them to swim farther with less effort, said the instructor. 

Thường said: “Since training began on November 19, most children can already do frog kicks and glide for a long distance. By the end of the course, I’m confident they will meet the project’s goals.”

The training atmosphere is always lively and disciplined.

Third-grader Trần Huỳnh Quốc Thoại said: “I’ve been learning for a few days, and now I can swim a little. I really want to know how to swim so I won’t drown if I go in to the river.”

Children warm up before a swimming lesson.

For many families, the free swimming classes have eased the constant worries of raising their children near the massive canal system of the Mekong Delta. 

Lâm Út, a local resident, said he and many other parents are truly encouraged by the project. 

Watching his child become more confident in the water with each lesson, he said swimming skills not only keep the children safe in their daily routines but also reduce risks of drowning, lifting a long-standing psychological burden for many families.

Water safety culture

According to Phan Trường Giang, deputy head of Lâm Tân Commune’s Culture Division, water safety training is a top priority for the locality due to the dense canal network and unpredictable flooding.

The commune has opened 30 free swimming classes for 600 students from grades one to nine, focusing on those who have never learned how to swim.

This effort forms part of a wider campaign under Plan 4223 issued by Cần Thơ Department of Health on November 13 this year. 

With funding of more than VNĐ3.5 billion (US$133,000) from the US-based organisation Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the project aims to train 4,400 children in eight targeted wards and communes. 

Thirteen mobile pools are operating at full capacity, with 220 classes running from November to December 31, 2025.

One of the project's mobile swimming pools in Lâm Tân Commune, Cần Thơ City.

The project also reflects close coordination between the health, education and youth sectors. The health department leads implementation, while the education department and youth union bring water safety education into schools, aiming to ensure all students in the project areas receive drowning-prevention training.

Beyond teaching swimming, the project aims to build a long-term 'water safety culture' through communication activities such as loudspeaker messages, themed sessions and city-level contests.

Cần Thơ Department of Health noted that swimming lessons are only a first step, stressing that lasting protection depends on raising community awareness and the active participation of schools, parents and the community as a whole.

The success in the eight pilot wards and communes is expected to pave the way for Cần Thơ to scale up the model citywide, offering valuable lessons for Mekong Delta localities on improving swimming skills and strengthening water safety culture in rural river-based areas. — VNS