Water Safety Project

My name is Marina Demas and I am a freshman at Rio Americano High School. Two years ago, my mother and I began working with a family of refugees from Afghanistan through a "Good Neighbor" program coordinated by the organization World Relief. World Relief has been instrumental in resettling a good portion of the few thousand refugees from Afghanistan who came to Sacramento in the last few years. Most of these refugees had worked for the US military in Afghanistan and by doing so they had put their lives and those of their families at risk.


Working with our assigned Afghan family was an eye-opening experience for me. Not only did it show me how fortunate I am, but it also taught me about problems refugees, specifically in Sacramento, are facing. Many of them don’t know the language, most women are illiterate, and when they arrive in the US they need to start building their lives from scratch. Most arrive with just a couple of suitcases of personal belongings- they have nothing else, and need help adjusting to the new culture.


Another thing I realized after talking to refugees is that most of them do not know how to swim or how to be safe around water. In fact, there were a few drownings or near drownings in the Afghan community in Sacramento due to lack of information about water safety. After doing some research, I found that there were no refugee organizations in Sacramento that focus on education around water safety. As a swimmer myself, I know how important water safety and learning how to swim are. Seeing there was a need, I decided to spread the word about water safety before this coming summer in order to help prevent drownings and better inform the refugee community.


To do so, have already made and translated a water safety video into Dari, and I am hoping to do presentations on water safety at different public events and possibly apartment complexes around the Arden-Carmichael area (where a lot of Afghan refugees live). In addition to informing refugees about water safety, I would like to offer them life vests and swim lesson vouchers, both as incentives for them to show up for the presentations, and also to help keep them safe throughout the summer and beyond. However, I am in need of donations in order to help cover the cost of the life vests and swim lessons. Life vests cost $20-30 each, and group swim lessons cost $108/month. I am hoping to raise $2,000 to purchase 30 life vests and sponsor 10 children (or adults) for one month of swim lessons. One hundred percent of all donations will be used for this project.

Please consider helping by donating any amount you are comfortable with by June 1. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Marina