The Pool Project

Giving every child the chance to feel safe in the water.

 

Why the Pool Project exists

South Africa has one of the most spectacular coastlines in the world — but many children grow up without ever learning how to swim.

In townships and rural areas, children often play in dams, rivers and informal pools without any water-safety training. Drowning remains one of the leading causes of accidental death among children in South Africa, and the Eastern Cape is one of the provinces most affected.

We believe that water should be a place of joy, not fear. The Pool Project is our way of helping to change that.

Meet Iminenga Swimming Academy

In Mdantsane, outside East London, former broadcaster Yvonne Anunu Mpahla kept seeing the same headlines: children drowning because they had never had the chance to learn how to swim.

After a tragic incident where two boys drowned at Bridle Drift Dam, she decided things had to change. In 2024 she founded Iminenga Swimming Academy (ISA), a non-profit that offers free swimming and water-safety lessons to children from the township.

Today, Iminenga works with around 50 children between the ages of 6 and 18. Lessons are run by Yvonne and a small team of volunteers. The children travel to pools in neighbouring areas whenever transport and access fees can be covered.

The vision is simple and powerful: to prevent drownings, build confidence in the water, and open up future opportunities in aquatics for township youth.

"Waking up every day to run the academy gives me purpose — it's about adding value and being part of the change in our community."

-Yvonne

The biggest barrier? No pool.

Iminenga does not have a swimming pool of its own.

Swimming is the one sport where the facility is not optional – it is the main ingredient. At the moment, the academy relies on donations to cover transport and access fees to the Stanmore Aquatic Centre in Nahoon. When funding runs short, lessons have to stop.

What the team needs is a simple, above-ground community pool in Mdantsane – safe, close to home, and designed specifically for teaching beginners to swim.

Our vision for Mdantsane's first community learn-to-swim pool

We are not trying to build an Olympic facility. The goal is a practical, above-ground pool that allows Iminenga to run regular lessons and water-safety programmes without relying on expensive, distant facilities.

Consistent lessons instead of occasional sessions

More children from more schools able to attend

A safe, supervised space instead of dams and rivers

A pathway into aquatic careers and opportunities later in life

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