Safety on beaches at heart of twinning project
Improving safety on beaches in the Gambia is at the heart of a
twinning project involving a Barry Island-based lifeguard
club.
Launched earlier this year, the 10-year lifesaving development
programme involves the Whitmore Bay Life Saving Club and the
Gambian Fire Service which is responsible for safety on its
country's beaches and whose chief officer Roger Bakurin recently
visited Barry.
The project is being supported by the Vale of Glamorgan Council
through its visible services and tourism and leisure departments.
The support includes provision of a lifeguard building and free use
of the Barry Leisure Centre for training.
The project opened with a
two-week training visit by six volunteer members of the Barry club
to the Gambia in the summer, and was followed by Mr Bakurin's visit
during which he briefed Vale Mayor Cllr Clive Williams. He also met
Cllr Rob Curtis, Vale cabinet member for visible services, John
Long, the RLSS Commonwealth Secretary, and Whitmore club 'nippers,'
who raised a magnificent £3,000 towards the Gambian trip.
It is hoped to fund a training visit to Barry by a member of the
fire service next year.
The team visiting Gambia was led by Cliff Nelson, Royal Life
Saving Society programme manager (beach and open water), who said:
"Members from Whitmore Bay all joined in and raised over £5,000 to
fund the trip and donated many items of equipment to take to the
Gambia including three rescue boards, four training manikins, 20
first aid kits and 15 rescue tubes.
"Twenty Gambian firemen who provide the professional rescue
cover through a sea rescue centre received training in basic
lifesaving, rescue skills, first aid, resuscitation and casualty
management."
The Whitmore Bay club has nearly 100 members, and captain Mike
Allely said: '"It is great that we are able to help our overseas
friends improve safety on their beaches. We are looking forward to
providing two weeks of training for a fire officer from the Gambia
next summer and have already started saving to send another
training team to the country in 2009."
Cllr Curtis said: "I have been very impressed with the
partnership and friendship links that Whitmore Bay life savers have
built up with the Gambian Fire Service. Young people from both
countries have benefited from the sharing of skills and knowledge.
I would like to pay tribute to the young people who have helped
organise these international links. They have been wonderful
ambassadors for Barry."
• The Whitmore Bay club is affiliated to the RLSS whose
volunteer members regularly travel overseas to assist in water
safety and lifesaving developments. Along with Gambia, Ghana,
Gibraltar, Hong Kong and Sudan have benefited in the current
year.
• Through the RLSS, which is the Commonwealth’s largest
lifesaving/water safety training organisation, every year some two
and a half million persons worldwide qualify in lifesaving,
resuscitation and water safety techniques.
Caption: Vale of Glamorgan Council cabinet
member for visible services Cllr Rob Curtis, Cliff Nelson, of the
Royal Life Saving Society, and Whitmore Bay club officials and
members welcomed Gambia Fire Service chief Roger Bakurin to Barry
Island.
17/12/2007