By:Curtis Morton
A swimming camp hosted by the Youth and Sports Department of Nevis, commenced on Monday 17th August at Paradise beach.
According to Administrative Officer at the department, Miss Tasha Parry, some 33 children of primary school and secondary school age are involved in the camp.
The camp will conclude on Friday 28th August and is run daily from 9 am to 12.00 noon, from Monday to Friday of each week.
The youngest participants are six years old.
The facilitators are members of the St.Kitts and Nevis Coast Guard.
Lance Corporal Claxton, the man in charge of camp, indicated that the Coast Guard has been working in collaboration with the Youth and Sports Department for several years now and noted that his officers were happy to assist in enabling the young persons to learn to swim.
He noted that the first order of business, was to get the children to overcome the fear of the water and they were being encouraged to do that by engaging in several fun activities in the water.
More advanced participants are being taught to float and dog paddle.
“Once they have overcome the fear of the water, our job is made a lot easier,’ he said.
He stated that the intention is that by the conclusion of the camp, 33 young persons on Nevis would have all learnt to swim.