Swimming pool launch helps remote desert students make a splash

EducationDaily
Water safety education is more accessible for remote students after a new pool has opened in SA's remote APY Lands.

Ernabella Anangu School coordinator Casey Colin-Kenny says the students and broader community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia’s Far North have been fighting to have a local swimming pool built for more than 20 years.

On Saturday 11 January, that hard work was realised when the pool at Pukatja (Ernabella) opened – giving children easier access to important water safety education.

The pool, in one of the nation’s most remote communities where the temperature is often over 40C, is described as a “life-changing” addition for locals, who can find relief from the scorching desert heat they endure.

“I think it just changes our lives, because there’s not a lot of options to go swimming in the desert, so that helps with the heat,” says Colin-Kenny.

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“As one of the community members and as a leader at the school, it makes me proud to see the kids enjoying it and being excited when swimming.”

Upgrades, new staff and new rescue and safety equipment have also allowed existing pools at other APY Lands communities – at Amata, Pipalyatjara and Yalata – to open.

Education Minister Blair Boyer sought support for site leaders to ensure as many pools as possible this summer, leading to a recruitment campaign for pool managers to help boost water safety education.

“Having visited these communities, I know that the swimming pools provide so much value to the locals, as well as the regions, with students from other APY Lands communities able to visit these pools to have swimming lessons and enjoy a splash in the pool,” says Boyer.

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The state government is now working to quickly rectify a plumbing issue that will enable the pool at Mimili to re-open for community use, following a successful opening for school use during term four.

Students at Kaltjiti (Fregon), Indulkana and Kenmore Park will be able to travel to Mimili to use the swimming pool facilities, while students at Murputja travel to Pipalyatjara.

The Education Department’s Water Safety program for school students, which has been delivered to students on the APY Lands in partnership with Surf Lifesaving SA for more than 20 years, is also provided at Amata and Mimili.

With about 200 children in the community’s population of 600-800 people, Colin-Kenny says that “seeing the excitement in the photos that are sent through from families and receiving videos and seeing the kids jumping in the pool just made me feel proud and excited for the kids”.

“We’re going to encourage our staff and the teachers to have weekly swimming lessons with the kids.”

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