A group of children in the Greater Banjul Area are currently being taught swimming skills under a project initiated by the Gambia press Union (GPU) with support from both local and international partners.

The children are between the ages of 8 and 16, and for some of them it is the first time in the pool.

During the launching of the project at the Friendship Hostel, GPU president said: “This pilot project does not only aim at training children how to swim but aims to develop a bigger project that will produce talented swimmers that might one day represent The Gambia in international swimming competitions.”

For her part, the president of the Red Dolphins Life Guard lauded the project disclosing: “In 2016 alone, we have had 28 drown cases in The Gambia and nine death cases due to drowning.”