2015 - Proposal and Reports

The following comments were kindly provided by Darlene Gentle of the Belize YWCA to explain some of the items in the reports that I had queried with the YWCA:

The difference between the "Goldfish" and "Snapper" certificates is that the snapper level is one step above the goldfish level, wherein the swimmer advanced from the shallow to the deep end of the swimming pool and improved his/her techniques that were learned at the goldfish level.  In addition, the "snapper" swimmer's confidence improved to include jumping into the deep end of the pool, leveling off, and kicking/finning in deep water.  These are swimming techniques that a "goldfish" swimmer is not comfortable with or has not yet mastered. 

It is correct that 61 out of 224 children could not swim after completing the course.  It was the first time in water for these children; they really feared the water and many of them had missed some sessions.  We are however, still happy to report that by the end of the program, even though they still could not swim, these children were far less fearful and much more comfortable in the water.

The reason why the 7 of the 10 children who did not complete the course came from the "Friends Boys School" is because the school is a corrective institution for out-of-school boys and these boys were frequently absent from the swimming sessions for varying disciplinary reasons of the institution. 

Darlene Gentle also provided the link to a new report that one of Fiona's friends had also sent to me:
:  http://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=32842&frmsrch=1