The Aqua Kaseh Idea

My brother runs the Dolphin Swimming Academy (www.dolphinacademy.blogspot.com) which started as a center to teach people to survive in water....yes, not just to swim. He is a qualified Life Saver and had decided to open the academy after receiving requests from parents to teach their children to swim.  Why come to my brother and not to other swimming instructors? Well, you see as a Life Saver his teaching approach is quite revolutionary (yes...he was recognised for that: refer to his blogspot above). I saw the method worked on my children.  Within a day of instructions, they could start floating properly....I mean this is important as the whole idea to learn to swim is to stay afloat in water, right?  On the second day, the kids were lapping the pool (as part of their aqua endurance training).  They couldn't swim a couple of days before!!! After a 2 weeks of training session, their Aqua Competence is apparent.  Since then, I stop worrying about them going to the deep end of a swimming pool.
Now what does the above have to do with the Aqua Kaseh project I'm embarking.  Amazed by the training approach (i.e learn to survive before learning to swim), I asked my brother if he would train people with disabilities? To my surprise, he said he had tried with Special Children (Down syndrome and Autistic).  On request from parents of the Special Students of SMK Bukit Kepayang, he accepted the challenge to teach the children aquatic survival skills (which at that point, no other swimming instructor/centre in town willing to take them in).  We're not talking about children with physical disabilities. These children are physically fit only thing is that their brain development is slower than so called normal child. The results? All of the students could now swim (or in my brother's term: Aquatic Competent). Since then, parents with special child had approached him for help. On case by case basis, he accepted these children selectively.

Inspired by his success, I asked him if I could start a project to organise a program to help Special Children to learn to survive in water.  So born the Aqua Kaseh idea.