Royal Lesotho Lifesaving Association (RLLA) was formed in 2004 by four members of the Lesotho Durham Link, an organisation based on the Anglican Church, which promotes youth activities such as canoeing, lifesaving, and also hosts conferences.
Our policy has been to train lifesavers, not lifeguards. This is because Lesotho has no legislation at all on pool safety, so jobs as lifeguards in Lesotho are unlikely to be available. Most drownings in Lesotho occur in village dams and rivers which are completely unsupervised. We hope, over time, to build up a group of young people with the skills to rescue someone if need arises, while at the same time raising public awareness of water safety.
We currently teach school children how to rescue those in danger in water, and we also teach non-swimmers how to float.
Since 2011, when we were affiliated to RLSS, we have awarded 449 Basic certificates, 132 Intermediate, 49 Bronze Medallions and 29 Bronze Crosses and 12 Silver Crosses.
All of our instructors are unpaid volunteers as we receive no financial support from the government. Schools and members pay a small subscription, but we also rely on donations from local businesses, two of which are hotels which provide their pools for training free of charge.
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