Free swim lessons for refugees

Thirroul local Peter Rafferty was volunteering as a driving instructor in SCARF Refugee Support’s L2P program when he realised newcomers to our coast needed lessons in another vital life skill.

“It made me realise what a massive hole there is in the programs that we have, for people who live so close to the ocean. Quite a lot of the people I’ve met are from the Congo and other African countries that don’t have access to the ocean. So there’s a quite obvious need to teach them to swim.”

At the end of last year Peter started offering a free learn-to-swim and aquatic safety program for refugees, asylum seekers and new arrivals to the Illawarra. His lessons have been held at Thirroul Olympic Pool and Woonona rockpool and, while Peter is running the program independently, both SCARF and Wollongong City Council have enthusiastically supported it.

“Council said I’m welcome to use the Continental Pools or Kembla Pool or any of the rockpools up the coast. And SCARF said that I can borrow the community bus to pick people up and take them to the pool.”

Peter is an AustSwim qualified teacher with a lifetime’s experience to share. “I was an accredited swim instructor when I was a teenager, doing ‘learn to swim’ at Bexley pool in Sydney.

“Then I went on to do all sorts of stupid things like marathons and ultra marathons and cycling all over the world and running all over the world and swimming all over the world.

“I did a lot of triathlons, about 200 triathlons.”

This was all in between his day job as an engineer. “I had an engineering company…  before that I worked in engineering management, mostly running engineering companies for manufacturing.”

Peter has lived in Thirroul for the past 16 years.

“I still run a lot – I probably average about 30ks a week, but mainly in the bush. I run with a group of girls called the Illawarra Trailblazers. I cycle about 150k a week up in the Royal National Park with some mates from Sydney.

“So still managing to keep on top of things.

“Now I’m just about to turn 71 and decided I’d better put something back in.

“I’ve got my Bronze Medallion – I’m a surf life saver at Scarborough Wombarra beach. So I’ve got plenty of experience in the surf and water safety and so forth.”

His ‘learn to swim’ course goes for six weeks, with a weekly half-hour lesson. “More than that people get cold.

“The first part of learning to swim is learning how to float without panicking … especially with children, teaching them to fall in the water and float, just basic skills.”

Peter also teaches water safety, not just in the sea but around dams, rivers, creeks and lagoons.

“It covers all that stuff.”

Learning to swim is a vital skill for coastal residents, he says. “It’s not difficult. It’s not hard work. You don’t have to be super fit, but it’s just an easy way to stay safe when you go to the beach, and you’ll get to enjoy the beach.”

Classes have already begun in 2022. “There’s a few people I’ve taught to drive who said that they want to come, and get their kids to do it too. The weather hasn’t been in my favour. But the water temperature’s very good.

“I’m going to do it for at least three years. It’s going to be available for everybody who wants to learn. I’ve never been paid for swimming lessons.

“I don’t find the two things are congruous, getting paid and teaching people to swim. You get a job where you get paid, or you teach people to swim. You don’t do both at the same time.

“If the program’s successful, I’ll open it up to others … change the flyer to include people who can’t afford private lessons.”

Text or call Peter on 0424 199 299.