LIFESAVERS from nine overseas rescue organisations showcased their skills at Sandbanks beach after a fortnight of intensive training from the RNLI .
The ‘future leaders in lifesaving’ course, the first of its kind, saw 14 representatives from Kenya, Senegal, Cameroon, Bangladesh, India, Uganda, Tanzania, Mauritius and the Philippines training at the RNLI college in Poole.
Despite driving rain they were putting their lifesaving skills into action with a series of live exercises featuring scenarios such as a missing child and a first aid incident.
Two of the attendees, Idrissa Ndiaye from Senegal and Viraj Ramharai from Mauritius, had already put their skills into action for real when they rescued a child at Sandbanks beach during the first few days of their training.
The pair, who were standing on the rock groynes, were closest to the boy and leapt into the water after seeing him in distress before the lifeguards reached him moments later.
Idrissa told the Echo: “A lifeguard never stops watching the sea – I’m just used to it – when I’m on the beach I’m always looking out.”
Viraj added: “When there are children you always tend to keep an eye and an ear out.
“When we saw that there was one boy that needed help we just stripped off our things and went straight away into the water.”
The pair both praised the course. Idrissa said: “We learned many new techniques which I’d never used before because in Senegal we just don’t have the means.”
Viraj added that the training in communication and media was particularly useful.
Steve Wills, international development officer for the RNLI, said the course had been a great success which they hoped to repeat annually.
“The aim is to improve life-saving around the world. We have always reached out to other organisations but by coming here we can share the skills and techniques of a long-standing well-respected institution.
“We felt we could use some of our 200 years of knowledge and skills to help those countries less fortunate than ourselves but equally enthusiastic about developing lifesaving and saving lives.”
The group, all lifesavers in their home countries, have expanded their skills with classroom and beach-based training covering everything from the role of the lifeguard to equipment to managing incidents and how to run education initiatives and develop their organisations.
The hope is that they will then be able to develop their lifesaving services back home – and help reduce the estimated 1.2 million drownings around the world each year.
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