The Alexandra Youth Swim Academy (AYSA) is a not-for-profit organization that provides free water safety and learn-to-swim instruction for children in Alexandra, South Africa – where drowning is one of the leading causes of death.  The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1,500 people drown every year in South Africa, with 90% of drownings occurring in poor communities like Alexandra. More than 30% of the victims, according to the WHO, are kids under 14 years of age who don’t know how to swim and were raised to be fearful of water.

Linda Twala, widely regarded as the “father of Alexandra,” has long recognized this threat to his community and made it his dream to teach the boys and girls of Alexandra to swim. This dream became a reality when I joined ‘uBaba’ Twala to help conceive and develop the Alexandra Youth Swim Academy. The AYSA was the natural outgrowth of my outreach program I started in 2019, called “Uplift thru Sport,” that sought to enrich the lives of Alexandra’s youth through greater exposure to organized sports.

Rollout of the AYSA occurred in the following phases:

• First, I embarked on an ambitious fund-raising campaign to purchase swim equipment for 200 kids – swimsuits, caps, goggles, kickboards, fins, swim bags, t-shirts and other items. I succeeded in raising nearly US$25,000 and secured ongoing supply for additional equipment as the program scales.
• Second, I canvassed the Johannesburg area in search of a pool and ultimately settled on King David Linksfield (KDL), a prominent high school with a long-standing history working with the townships. KDL not only donates use of their 8-lane pool, but also offers use of their buses to transport the kids from Alexandra to Linksfield and back.
• Third, the AYSA required know-how in the form of learn-to-swim programming, which I sourced from Aquatics Gauteng (AG), an affiliate of Swimming South Africa. AG uses certified instructors to teach a ‘buttoned-up” swim curriculum that is the product of collaboration between the Gauteng Department of Education and Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.
• And finally, uBaba Twala needed additional support within Alexandra to organize and ensure the safety of the kids who participate in AYSA. This role was filled by Afrika Tikkun (AT), a philanthropic organization that has a long history of outreach in the townships to empower the impoverished youth. AT provides both administrative and financial support.

On January 22, 2023, we launched the AYSA. Swim lessons have continued every Sunday morning since the January 2023 launch from 9 – 11 am. Groups of 48-60 kids cycle through the program as they advance through the curriculum. The goal is to reach 200 kids by the end of the 2023 South African summer, with plans to scale next year and beyond.