TRANSCRIPT
Finding purpose in grief has been a guiding compass helping point Luse Kinivuwai forward with each difficult step taken since her son's drowning last summer.
Her much-loved Jona was lost to the sea at just 20 years of age.
"I think the trauma of that day is still with us today losing someone that young who had so much to live for and had such a promising life ahead of him has been really devastating."
She says he was a be autiful young soul taken too soon.
Ms Kinivuwai says her son disappeared off an unpatrolled beach on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula 10 months ago.
"We would never want to see any other family go through this. I don't mind talking about it so much because if it helps some others, if it helps causes like this, I think I'm happy to talk about the incident just so that people are aware."
Jona is among 27 victims of Victoria's worst summer of drownings on record.
The lessons of that summer have now been documented by Life Saving Victoria in its latest annual analysis of these deaths.
Doctor Hannah Calverley, of Life Saving Victoria, says from swimming to snorkelling and boating, there are many hidden dangers waterways can present.
But she says the common threat is risky behaviour undertaken away from the watchful eyes of lifesaver-patrolled areas.
"And so what this means is it's not necessarily a dangerous beach or it might be a bay or a calmer looking beach but it's more of the activities people are doing in those areas and their ability to be able to deal with the water conditions that they're facing."
In total, 54 fatal drownings were recorded over the 12-month period examined by Life Saving Victoria.
That's the highest number in a decade.
The 10 fatalities of victims aged 15 to 24 were double the ten-year average.
And the 21 from multicultural communities was the highest number ever recorded.
Volunteer Randeep Saini says the concerning trend is being addressed by helping to set up swimming lessons for culturally and linguistically diverse community members to access.
"So we can't shy away from the numbers. (They) Indicate very strongly a big representation of CALD communities. Now what is important is how do we provide a path for reducing these number of deaths in these communities.”
The report also notes the rise in deaths among young people and multicultural communities in Victoria is of particular concern.
Dr Calverley says a renewed community effort is needed to drive home the water safety message.
"Look we're dealing with mother nature at the end of the day. And as much as we can forecast conditions, it is unpredictable at times. And so the onus is on everybody for their own water safety to make sure they can stay safe."
