Swim coach offers free lessons for refugees
A Warriewood local is teaching lifesaving skills to children that have fled war in Ukraine.
Toni Roebuck, owner and manager of Warriewood’s Splashed swim school, has been donating swimming lessons to Ukrainian children that recently arrived in Australia.
Starting in May this year, Toni has dedicated her own time to teach eight-year-old Mykyta, six-year-old Arina, and five-year-old Max how to swim.
Toni says that when she heard that the family was living on the Northern Beaches, she wanted to do something to help.
Before arriving in Australia, the children had never seen the ocean or completed any type of swimming lesson, so the urgency of getting them equipped to be ‘swim safe’ as they settle on the Northern Beaches was paramount.
“There is no language, so we are very visual, and we do a lot of word/action association. So, they understand when I’m saying kick and I show them,” Toni explains.
“They’ve been really positive, and they really try. They are really engaged and the little one jumped off the platform last week and just wrapped his arms around me. It was so funny – he is so affectionate and gave me a big hug.
“The progression of the two older ones has been amazing. They are now developing breath control and starting to put their face down in the water. They’re starting to relax.”
Toni emphasises how important it is for these children to learn how to swim, especially living on the Peninsula.
“This is it now. They have relocated, because even if the war in Ukraine stops, there’s nothing to go back to,” she says.
“So, you know this is their life now and how lucky that they landed on the Beaches. But our leisure is so much around the ocean and water, so it’s really important for them to integrate into our society but also develop skills to save their life.”
Thanks to the generosity of Toni and her team at Splashed, Mykyta, Arina and Max are now on their way to learning these lifesaving skills.