Celebrating World Drowning Prevention Day: inspiring stories, saving lives

Every story of survival, every lesson taught, and every community empowered adds to a collective mission: to ensure that preventable tragedies in water become stories of hope instead.

This mission is close to the heart of Caville Abrahams, NSRI Drowning Prevention Regional Coordinator in the Western and Northern Cape. “Drowning remains one of the leading causes of accidental death in South Africa, particularly among children,” he says. “In many communities, especially rural areas, people have limited access to safe swimming facilities, water safety education, and rescue services. Observing World Drowning Prevention Day helps raise critical awareness, promotes life-saving education, and reminds us that proactive prevention saves lives.”

Across his region, NSRI instructors visit schools to deliver survival swimming and water safety programmes, focusing on children aged 5–14. “By educating and equipping communities, we embody the principle that while drowning can happen to anyone, it should not happen to anyone,” Caville adds.

Further east, along the warm and bustling KwaZulu-Natal coastline, the risks are just as real. Siyabonga Mthethwa, NSRI Drowning Prevention Instructor and KZN Water Safety Coordinator, works in communities that live alongside the ocean. “KZN is home to some of South Africa’s most popular coastal destinations, including Durban and the surrounding beach towns, which draw a lot of tourists year-round,” he says. “With warm waters and expansive beaches, KZN sees some of the highest volumes of aquatic activity in the country throughout the year and is the leading province in drowning incidents.”

For instructors like Siyabonga, the work is deeply personal. “To become a Drowning Prevention Instructor is about far more than just knowing how to swim,” he explains. “Instructors are trained to be educators  and advocates for water safety, working directly in schools, communities, and public spaces to equip people with the skills and knowledge needed to prevent drowning.”

Through water safety education, survival swimming, the Pink Rescue Buoy Project, and the free NSRI SafeTRX app, the NSRI is helping to transform awareness into action. In 2024 alone, the organisation delivered 877 485 water safety lessons and taught 25,000 survival swimming lessons, and its 1,800+ Pink Rescue Buoys have saved 221 lives since 2017.

As NSRI CEO Mike Vonk reflects: “This is not just a statistic; it’s a call to action. World Drowning Prevention Day reminds us that while anyone can drown, no one should.”

Caville Abrahams teaching a class in a George primary school about water safety.

Lezhae Snyders teaching survival swimming at Long Street Baths in Cape Town.

Volunteers at the Sea Point Pavilion on World Drowning Prevention Day.