Feeling water

“Feeling water” is a volunteer project with the help of the volunteer organization “Ki Olam Hesed Yibene” which was found to make children’s dream come true, getting in the water with no fear. We also try to give the children the power and the skills to express their abilities.

The project builds up their self confidence and helps them make new friends. The kids have a great time, get feedback for their activity and participation and enjoy an encouraging and supporting environment, which believes in their abilities, and allows them to make mistakes and learn from them. At the beginning some children who show up don’t know how to swim and they are terrified and refuse to get in the water. Others, “the strong ones” fool around in the water and drown one another…

Slowly you start to see a change- the kids show some listening and discipline skills, they get ready on their own (goggles, fins and buoys), and most important they all smile and have a great time. By the end of the project all of the children are able to swim with no buoys and 90% of them can swim over 25 meters or more.

You can see how proud they are, their eyes are shining when they are handed out the certificates and medals by the Mayor. They know that next summer they will be able to get in the water like every other kid.

Target audience: youth at risk- children with low self esteem, most of them suffer behavior issues, ADHD and coordination difficulties.

Goals: improving their self confidence, creating body awareness, teaching swimming (and using that time otherwise used for being on the streets with no supervision).

Format: groups of 45 children age group 6-10.

Frequency: 1.5 hours sessions once a week for 3 months.

About:

  • Providing free swimming lessons for children of low socio- economic background and allowing them to be independent in aquatic environment.
  • Empowering youth at risk. We also aim to teach and train for free, and educate them to sport as a way of life, as well as prepare them for the army.
  • Enabling people with intellectual disabilities to practice swimming and integrate in society.
  • Creating high competitive swimming level, and getting our Israeli swimmers at the highest level possible.

Association goals:

  • Educating youth of low socioeconomic backgrounds and show them the benefits and enjoyment of sports and swimming in particularly, as well as teaching 1000 children swimming from scratch, all free of charge.
  • Educating youth at risk for athletic success, and changing their lifestyle, like “Ben Galim” project does.
  • Training Special Olympics swimmers (people with intellectual disabilities) and encouraging their integration in regular swimming programs.
  • Having an Israeli swimming champion by 2020.
  • Our superior goal is to support low social- economic youth and sponsor them all the way to world’s highest level, and maybe even finding tomorrow’s swimming phenomenon.

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