The Safety and Emergencies team of the City Council of La Oliva, under the command of the mayor, Isaí Blanco, works together with Fundación MAPFRE Canarias in the drowning prevention campaign ‘To have a fun summer is vital to be prevented’. In this sense, the Consistory discloses, together with Fundación MAPFRE Canarias, the main preventive measures in case of accidents in the aquatic environment, in addition to teaching the necessary guidelines for action in case of any type of emergency on the beach.
Entering the water without heeding the instructions of the lifeguard, not knowing the environment in which we want to take a bath and not knowing how to swim or do it without sufficient caution are some of the most common causes of drowning. Thus, through this initiative will tour the main beaches of the municipality in order to publicize the risk factors and the knowledge necessary to know how to act, in the worst case, if a drowning occurs.
The mayor of La Oliva, Isaí Blanco, points out the need to continue betting on prevention in the area of Public Safety and, specifically, in the field of Emergencies: “While it is true that from the City Council we seek constant improvement of the conditions of security services that we offer not only to our neighbors, but also to tourists who visit us 365 days a year, it becomes necessary, in turn, to focus on the dissemination of basic knowledge in case of any kind of incident in the aquatic environment”.
Laura Ojeda, coordinator of the prevention and outreach area of Fundación MAPFRE Canarias, highlights the importance of launching this drowning prevention campaign on the island of Fuerteventura since: “it will have a real impact on the prevention and reduction of accidents on the island and, most importantly, on the safety of people who enjoy our beaches”. The representative of the Foundation explained, “the safety of people in the Canary Islands is an objective on which we work tirelessly from the Foundation. In the last ten years we have carried out more than 12,000 prevention activities in which more than half a million people from all over the archipelago have participated”.
The workshops will offer participants guidelines and basic advice for the prevention of drowning, such as bathing accompanied, not to go far from the shore in natural aquatic areas, get wet before entering the water, avoid abundant meals before bathing, do not do it if you feel very cold or tired, ask for help when you see someone in danger and remember that the emergency number is 112. In addition, the little ones will be able to take part in a T-shirt painting workshop with the tips they have learned.
