in Marseille, an association makes it possible to learn to swim in private homes
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In Marseille, individuals make their swimming pool available to the most disadvantaged. Thanks to this solidarity initiative, a hundred children made their first dives.
In Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), it’s time for swimming lessons, in the afternoon of Saturday August 6th. The session takes place in the private swimming pool of Marjorie Bongiorno, who has been lending her pool for two years on a voluntary basis, in order to allow young people to learn to swim. “It makes me proud, because I tell myself that we help”she says. “It’s extraordinary. Because already, to lend your swimming pool like that, people who help young people they don’t even know… We already thank this person”, says Kevin Ebé. Among the students, there are refugees, or young people from the priority sectors of the city.
Andréa Santiago grew up in the northern districts of Marseille. “The swimming pools were closed, and we were in class a lot, so it was really difficult”, she says. Flora Sobdibetladibet arrives from Chad, and has never learned to swim. After a few lessons, she can now estimated in the water almost without fear.
Learning to swim in private pools is the idea of the Marseille association Contact Club. “(…) In priority education zones, two out of three young people cannot swim. From there, we thought that living on the coast, it might be relevant to innovate a little”, explains Slimane Boughanemi, director of the association. A hundred young people have already benefited from the solidarity initiative.