When Ennia Jones was eight years old her parents bought a property in Zimbabwe and immediately closed in the swimming pool.
There was no need for it. No one in her family had ever learned to swim.
Reflecting on this now, decades later, the founder of Newcastle’s A Splash of Colour Swimming says hers is not an isolated experience, with many Australian migrants sharing an uncertainty with being submerged in water.
Generational limitations, cultural modesty, and a lack of confidence were all too common place among the Hunter’s Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) women that Ennia interacted with.
So, in February, she launched a 12-week program offering a holistic approach to learning to swim.
The initiative offers vital swimming skills and water safety knowledge taught at in-pool swimming lessons provided by qualified volunteer swimming instructors who have received cultural competency training,
Each program starts with two weeks of classes tackling psychological, social and cultural barriers and concerns unique to CALD women, as well as CPR training and swimming etiquette sessions.
Since its inception, A Splash of Colour Swimming has seen more than 70 women aged 21 to 65 graduate.
“We now live in Australia, and we need to set a new example for our children and a new example for the new Australians moving forward because Australia, especially Newcastle, has got so many beautiful beaches and swimming pools,” she said.
“We need to learn to overcome some of the generational limitations.
“For some of our ladies putting their head underwater is a big deal because it might bring back bad memories,” Ennia explains.
“By the end of the 12 weeks, they may not all be able to swim length after length [of the pool], but at least they’re confident enough to go into a pool, put their head underwater, kick, and float on their back.”
Last summer, 90 people drowned in Australian waterways and swimming pools.
Water safety competency for adults is crucial, and not just because of the need to safely monitor children.
Of the 281 people who drowned in Australia in the 2022/23 financial year, 24% were aged 25-44, 30% were aged 45-64 and 27% were 65+.
On average, around one-in-four people who drown in Australia each year are born overseas, placing those from multicultural backgrounds in the “high risk” category for drowning incidents.
“Our parents just never grew up having the opportunity to learn how to swim,” Ennia says.
“And, the other thing is cultural modesty.
“I’m so glad I live in an age now where there’s so many different types of swimming costumes.
“I think some people have this old-fashioned notion that wearing a swimming costume you’re practically half naked, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can be as uncovered or covered as you like and still be within regulation.”
Ennia also supplies participants with goggles and a swimming cap free of charge thanks to the generosity of supporters.
“Another little thing that’s made a huge difference is I’ve managed to source swimming caps for people with big hair,” she said.
“I’ve got really big hair and to try and go into a shop and buy the standard swimming cap off the shelf was just such a frustrating experience because it was too small,and it didn’t work in the pool.
“So, I sourced bigger swimming caps, and we offer them free of charge, too.”
A Splash of Colour Swimming also offers free childcare for participants during in-pool lessons.
A Splash of Colour Swimming was among 55 IMB Bank Community Foundation funding recipients this year, with funds used to support the swimming program for CALD women.
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