From princess to patron saint‚ Charlene Wittstock honoured by Lifesaving SA

Former South African Olympic swimmer‚ Princess Charlene of Monaco‚ has been named patron of Lifesaving South Africa.

The honour was conferred on the princess‚ who is passionate about water safety‚ on Wednesday evening at a function at the Beverley Hills Hotel in Umhlanga.

The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation‚ established in 2012 and which has since reached over 300‚000 people worldwide‚ was set up in South Africa in 2013 and is known for raising public awareness about the dangers of water‚ teaching children essential water safety skills and how to swim.

At the event‚ attended by rugby players such as “Beast” Tendai Mtawarira‚ Patrick Lambie‚ Keegan Daniels and John Smith‚ surfing legends Shaun Tomson and Pat Flanagan‚ Lifesaving South Africa President Dylan Tommy handed a framed certificate to Gareth Wittstock‚ who attended the event on behalf of his sister‚ Princess Charlene.

Gavin Varejes‚ president of The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation SA‚ announced the distribution of 200 rescue boards‚ valued at over R2-million‚ from the foundation to Lifesaving SA.

The partnership between the foundation and Lifesaving South Africa is to strengthen the promotion of water safety and support ‘learn to swim’ projects in South Africa. Lifesaving South Africa’s Watersmart programme is a classroom based educational water safety programme developed to complement the current Grade 4 Life Skills curriculum.

In a message from the princess read out by Sarah Leonard of the Princess Charlene Foundation of Monaco‚ she said: “It is a great honour for me to be named patron of Lifesaving South Africa‚ an organisation that shares the same vision as my foundation and one that I have always been inspired by. Lifesaving South Africa’s commitment to drowning prevention is remarkable and the spirit of volunteering that you are instilling in our young people is infectious.”

In a recorded message the princess said:

“Drowning is one of the greatest silent killers on our planet. Water gives us life and has been a great source of inspiration to me. It was in the water where I first dreamed of going to the Olympics and I dedicated 20 years of my life to make that dream a reality. I am also aware of the risks associated with water. Drowning is the world’s third leader in accidental killing. It claims the similar number of lives today as diseases such as diarrhoea and measles in the 1960s and 1970s. We have to make drowning the subject of concerted and coordinated prevention efforts. Drowning claims a life every 35 seconds. Each life lost changes a family forever. In 2012 I set up my foundation to teach children essential water safety skills of how to swim. Thank you for your commitment to this cause. Let’s join forces and mobilise governments‚ NGOs and international bodies to end death by drowning. Together we will save lives‚ one person‚ one family‚ one community at a time.”

Lifesaving SA president Dylan Tommy said he was grateful to the princess for agreeing to serve as the patron.

“With the princess as our patron and the partnership we have established with The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation SA‚ we will be able to achieve far greater success in our fight against drowning in South Africa‚” said Tommy.

He said Lifesaving South Africa has 86 clubs around the country.

“According to Statistics South Africa on average more than 1‚500 people fatally drown in South Africa every year with the majority being people under the age of 20. This figure would have been much higher if not for our lifeguards. Last year we had 3‚000 rescues. Since Lifesaving South Africa was established our lifeguards saved over 120‚000 people from drowning‚” said Tommy.

- TimesLIVE