Key Points
- Eighty per cent of drowning deaths in 2022 involved adults.
- A new adult learn-to-swim program is being rolled out around the country.
- Participant Thu Fampidi says it has been a lifelong goal to conquer her fear of swimming.
Escaping Vietnam after the communist takeover, Thu Fampidi was born on a boat packed with refugees fleeing for their lives. The vessel navigated stormy conditions as her family searched for safety.
The boat took off from south Vietnam and dodged pirates off the coast of Thailand before heading south towards Indonesia, where it was rescued by a foreign ship.
Fampidi spent three months in the massive Galang refugee camp in the Indonesian archipelago before arriving in Melbourne.
At the age of 41, Thu Fampidi says she has not had the time until now to tackle her fear of the water after fleeing from Vietnam in a boat in her childhood. Source: Supplied / Allianz
"There's nothing worse than seeing everyone dive into the water and swim like mermaids and I'm just sitting on the sidelines," Fampidi told AAP.
"In my head I'm like, 'you're a water baby, you were born in the water, how do you not know how to swim', which is really embarrassing for me."
Aim to reduce drowning death toll
The 41-year-old disability support worker will be one of the first participants to take the plunge into a free adult swimming program organised by insurer Allianz in partnership with AUSTSWIM and Masters Swimming Australia.
Allianz Swim Club hopes to recruit 800 adults willing to brave the water ahead of the summer months when drownings spike.
Registrations opened on Friday and lessons will take place across 15 pools nationwide starting in October.
At least 90 people lost their lives in waterways and swimming pools across the country between December 2022 and February 2023.
A Surf Life Saving Australia report found 339 people died by drowning in 2022, of whom about 80 per cent were adults - a 15 per cent increase from the previous year.
"No one's really given me the time really and effort to help me to learn the techniques and calm my fears in the water," Fampidi said.
"That's why I jumped at the opportunity."
A dream of swimming in the Indonesian waters where she was born
Allianz research shows almost 60 per cent of Australian adults either cannot swim or want to be more confident in the water.
A camping enthusiast, Ms Fampidi said the first place she would go and immerse herself in the water was Stevensons Falls, a couple of hours from Melbourne.
She also has her sights on bigger adventures.
"It'd be incredible if I could be so confident as a swimmer that I could actually one day plan a trip to go back to Indonesia and swim in the water where I was born," Ms Fampidi said.
"To be able to go back to that very moment it'd be such a huge spiritual moment for me.
"It would be like coming home in a way."
