Community leaders commit to championing drowning prevention in Mayuge

What the report says

The Independent Uganda reported that community leaders, parents, government officials and fishing community members in Mayuge District have pledged to step up drowning prevention work in the lakeside area. The commitment was made at a community dialogue in Bwondha Sub-county, held as part of Reach A Hand Africa’s activities marking World Drowning Prevention Day, observed on July 25.

According to the report, participants included Mayuge Mayor Ngobi Jamal, Senior Community Development Officer Juliet Kyebogola, local council leaders, school administrators, parents, children, and representatives of fishing communities. Reach A Hand Africa Senior Programmes Officer Suleiman Muganza urged residents to recognise their individual roles in reducing drowning risks. Kyebogola said drowning prevention messages would be included in routine community mobilisation and household visits, while Jamal encouraged parents to treat swimming lessons as a necessary skill for children living near water.

The dialogue highlighted factors linked to drowning in lakeside communities, including poor swimming ability, limited use of life jackets, alcohol use on the water, unsafe fishing practices and misunderstandings about survival swimming. Former district councillor Ngobi Bakari also pledged to mobilise fishermen for weekend survival swimming and water rescue sessions at a swimming pool built under the drowning prevention project in Mayuge.

The Independent said the activity forms part of the Drowning Prevention Project, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and implemented by Reach A Hand Africa with partners in five lakeside districts: Masaka, Rakai, Mayuge, Soroti and Serere. The initiative focuses on survival swimming, water rescue training and community engagement to reduce preventable drowning deaths.