Sudanese drowning charity set up by Harringay man Tom Mecrow a success

A Harringay man who started a charity swimming project after being shocked by a high rate of drownings in the River Nile has won the backing of Sudanese authorities.

Tom Mecrow, 27, decided to set up the Nile Swimmers Project in 2007 with friend Dan Graham after the British Council withdrew funding from a similar service that aimed to stop more than 200 drowning deaths per year in the capital state of Khartoum alone.

Four years later, they have trained tens of young Sudanese men in drowning prevention and lifesaving techniques with small grants from British charities, and have signed an agreement with Khartoum police to extend the scheme.

Mr Mecrow said: “We started a lifesaving project when we realised that there were so many drownings on the river.

“Everyone seems to think drowning is something that just happens by the grace of God – we knew otherwise, and also knew that basic interventions could save lots of lives.”

The activist, who has now moved from his Rosebury Gardens home to Bangladesh to work on injury prevention there, first got involved in the project when the British Council sent an email asking for volunteers to a friend, and flew out to Sudan two weeks later.

He said the project, in which the volunteers are trained in a ten-day intensive course, is now continuing with a partnership between local trainers and the Sudanese Sea Scouts.

He added: “Hopefully this will show people that drowning can be prevented using really simple techniques.

“We now have excellent trainers in the country who can do our work for us.

“The studies we are conducting in Bangladesh have shown that rates of drowning in children can be reduced by over 95 per cent by teaching them how to swim.”

Story from Haringey Independent