Swimming club reaches out to Vuleka School
"Teaching them to swim is our way of giving back to the community."
The Florida Swimming Club (FSC) made some time in their busy swimming schedule to reach out to the community by supporting the Vuleka School Project.
The Vuleka School explained on the official webpage www.vulekaschool.co.za, “In response to the crisis in black education during the apartheid years, in 1989 Mrs Susan Germond, wife of the then rector of St. Martin’s, and Mrs Joy Chilvers, a fellow teacher, founded a new church based educational project named Vuleka, which means to open up, enlighten”.
It further reads, “Many township schools for the most part were under-resourced and dysfunctional. The only ‘open’ schools during this time (Apartheid) were independent schools, yet their doors often remained closed to the child with few English skills.
“Vuleka began as a project 23 years ago and was designed to put previously disadvantaged children into a more efficient branch of the education system.”
Vuleka currently has three venues in Johannesburg, Northcliff and Weltevreden Park.
FSC showed their support to the school in Weltevreden Park by training the pupils how to swim at the Orcas Learn to Swim Centre in Discovery. At least 100 pupils currently are being trained there.
“Teaching them to swim is our way of giving back to the community,” head coach Tracey Hemphill says.
“We identified the project in October last year and began working with Vuleka in January 2013.”
Tracey adds, “The initiative is supported and funded by the FSC, Central Gauteng Aquatics (CGA) and the Lotto. We do the training whereas CGA and Lotto contribute financially.
“For us it’s an honour being involved in a community project because we also can benefit from it by identifying and developing talent.”
Tracey says that lessons include teaching firsttimers how to swim, improving swimming ability and give those who take swimming seriously a chance to be part of the system at the club.
