A heartfelt and powerful community gathering took place on July 28 at Sikh temple in Officer, marking World Drowning Prevention Day and celebrating one year of a ground-breaking swim program for migrants.
Led by Gurdwara leader and respected Sikh community advocate Harpreet Singh Kandra, the event brought together community members, service providers, academics, and advocates from across Cardinia, Casey, Bass Coast and the Mornington Peninsula to reflect on the theme: “Anyone Can Drown, No One Should.”
It marked a significant milestone, one year since the launch of a 10-week water safety and swimming program developed to equip newly arrived migrants with the skills and confidence to stay safe around water.
Harpreet said the initiative was born out of tragedy and community determination to make change.
“Last year, Sandeep lost her husband and her father-in-law to a drowning incident. Both gentlemen were trying to save their child, who fell in a swimming pool in Gold Coast,” Hapreet said.
“At that point of time, my community said, we have to do something around this and that’s how we got into this action.”
Sandeep Kaur, now a passionate advocate for water safety, shared her emotional testimony during this year’s event.
“Learning swimming, working as a real estate agent, and trying to be part of the community as a role model,” she said.
“I feel like my husband will be happy someday. So that’s my motive at the moment. And be a role model for all communities, not just for my daughters.”
The World Drowning Prevention Day event featured panel discussions, brainstorming workshops, and networking sessions focused on future solutions to prevent drownings in multicultural communities.
Masaki Shibata, a drowning prevention researcher from Monash University, encouraged the group to think more broadly about the benefits of swimming.
“My friend is swimming to lose weight and my other friend is doing motor swimming for mental health.
So we might actually need to expand beyond just safety. By doing that, we might actually recruit more.”
A representative from Royal Life Saving Society Australia echoed the need for broader representation in aquatic workforces.
“The next step is not only teaching your community on how to swim, but seeing lifeguards and seeing swimming instructors that come from this community,” he said.
I think that would be really powerful. There’s a lot of research into our workforce and the cultural diversity of our workforce needs to improve.”
Attendees left the event not only inspired, but determined to strengthen collaborative efforts across the region to make water safety education more inclusive and accessible.
The event drew a strong turnout of nearly 100 attendees from across sectors, with representatives from local councils, health services, emergency agencies, education providers, multicultural organisations, and aquatic centres.
The program urgently needs support and funding from all levels of government—local, state, and federal to expand and succeed. Alongside government backing, help from local businesses and community organizations is also crucial to raise awareness and sustain the initiative.
Hapreet is also calling on councils with large multicultural populations to get involved in the swimming program, urging greater participation and support to expand its reach.
“There are 12 councils in Victoria with very high multicultural populations. I wrote to all of them, but unfortunately, I was only able to get representatives from six.”
Engaging men remains one of the biggest hurdles due to cultural barriers rooted in male ego and misconceptions about swimming and water safety. Despite these challenges, Harpreet remains optimistic.
“Any grassroots project like this, if run by grassroots communities with a passion, can bring amazing outcomes.”
