DPS educates students on water safety

The Department of Public Safety’s Boating Safety Section is currently teaching students about water safety, conducting presentations and sessions to fifth grade classes in various schools on Saipan.

Dubbed the Aqua Smart, the program is aimed at providing water safety tips to students.

Boating Safety officers have conducted the program at all public elementary schools with the exception of Oleai Elementary School, which was unable to take part due to a conflict of schedule. The program was also conducted at the Saipan International School, and is currently being conducted at Mount Carmel School. The session at the private school concludes this Thursday with a graduation ceremony.

“The program includes teaching about water pollution, the proper way of wearing a life jacket, and what to do when [you] see a flare being shot into the air,” said Boating Safety acting director Sgt. Juan Diaz. “They also learn to swim.”

Sessions at Mt. Carmel began yesterday. Each session starts at 8am. Diaz said a little over 50 students would receive certificates of accomplishments after completing the sessions.

Diaz said the response from the students has been positive since the start of the program this year.

“The kids like the program. It’s not often that they get presentations about the marine environment. They are very attentive and show much interest,” he said.

DPS commissioner Edward Camacho said the program plays a role in lowering water accidents.

“Our goal is to have 100 percent of the kids to be aqua smart,” he said. “Water accidents are decreasing and when we start with the youth, they carry on the information and are educated in the proper ways of handling water situations for the rest of their lives. It teaches them to be alert and to yell and call 911. We try to teach the kids not to just jump into the water and help someone drowning, because they will put their lives at risk. Instead, they should throw a floating device to the person in the water.”

Diaz said the program is conducted yearly to comply with the requirement of the section to conduct public education. It is funded by the federal government.

The program began in 1996 and has been conducted among schools yearly. This year, the section began conducting the sessions on March. The sessions at Mt. Carmel are the last set for the year.