On the south coast of Sri Lanka, under the ample shade of a Wetakeiya tree, a group of local young women are sitting in the sand learning about ocean safety. On their laps are booklets written half in English and half in the ornate looping curls of Sinhalese, the most widely spoken language on the island, to help facilitate their learning. A few metres away, small beginner-friendly waves break gently just beyond the shoreline.
THE GROUP ARE PART OF a programme run by the social enterprise SeaSisters at the popular beach town of Weligama. The training combines practical swim and surf instruction in the water with educational sessions on the beach.
In keeping with the setting, the lessons are relaxed and interactive, but their content is important, especially in a country where few children are taught to swim and on a coastline where the 2004 tsunami — which killed more than 30,000 Sri Lankans — casts a long psychological shadow when it comes to feeling confident in the water.
Kalpa Gandhari,
