A signature 75th Anniversary project for Rotary Papakura
The Rotary Club of Papakura's $30,000 grant to Drowning Prevention Auckland (DPA) supported "Tāmaki Herenga Waka," a signature project for the Club's 75th anniversary. This initiative, delivered from May 2024 to May 2025, aimed to enhance water safety for young people in Papakura.
The funding allowed DPA to provide life-saving water safety education, empowering students with confidence, skills, and knowledge for safer interactions with water.
The program reached 254 students from Rosehill Intermediate, Rosehill College, and Kauri Flats, providing crucial water safety education through classroom, pool-based, and open water learning. Key outcomes included increased confidence, improved floating and survival skills, and a more realistic self-assessment of water competence among students. Teachers also benefited from professional development, gaining confidence in delivering aquatic education focused on survival.
DPA expressed immense gratitude for the partnership, which made a measurable difference in equipping young people with critical water safety skills in a community identified with high drowning risk and limited swimming ability. The program led to increased risk awareness and positive shifts in risky aquatic behaviours.
