Pictured: Monbulk Aquatic Centre’s Amanda O’Callaghan donates lost goggles to a South African community.

Monbulk Aquatic Centre in Melbourne has been collecting lost goggles and donating them to a worthy cause for a number of years, traditionally donating to various Aboriginal communities to help with their school programs.

Recently, Amanda O’Callaghan, Monbulk Membership Manager toured parts of South Africa and she took with her the lost property goggles. She came across a remote community and decided to donate the goggles to them to promote swimming and water safety (pictured above).

Belgravia Leisure New Zealand aquatic sites have also donated a stockpile of lost goggles and togs to Africa – Swim Safe Uganda’s Africa Water Safety Outreach Program.

Approximately 5,000 people drown in Uganda every year. Most of the victims are children. To get to school many children have to paddle on basic, hand-made canoes across lakes or cross rivers.

Belgravia Leisure NZ General Manager, Mark Blake, said he is delighted to partner with Swim Safe Uganda and support the program designed to teach the local community water safety and survival techniques.

“Our donation will be generously delivered in person by NZ Poolsafe trainer and assessor, Denny McCarthy, in October,” he said.

“Denny will be heading to Kalangala, an island district in Southern Central Uganda that is surrounded by water.”

The program also teaches local trainers, empowering the local community to sustain this life-saving initiative.

To support the Africa Water Safety Outreach Program, please contact Judy Tipping, Belgravia Leisure NZ at jtipping@belgravialeisure.co.nz or visit their Swim Safe Uganda’s Facebook page at facebook.com/Smimsafeug.