Authored by:
Max Davis Denny, 16Â (Rose Bowl/Loyola High School)
Kyle Jackson, 15 (Trojan/Loyola High School)
Jake Lee, 15 (Rose Bowl/Loyola High School)
Roman Ng, 15 (Rose Bowl/Loyola High School)
Ian Wipfli, 15 (Rose Bowl/La Canada High School)
Following the conclusion of our Junior Olympic competition in July, we had the opportunity to travel to Uganda as volunteers for a five day Learn-to-Swim and Water Polo Camp for 50 youth living on the shores of Lake Victoria. Drowning is a major public health crisis in Uganda, resulting in thousands of preventable deaths each year. Ian Wipfli initiated fundraising for the Learn-to-Swim and Water Polo Camp in 2019 and, after hearing about the opportunity to use our love of water polo to promote water safety, the rest of us enthusiastically joined the cause. During the camp, youth aged 8-13 rotated through workshops focused on how to make water safe to drink and swim in, how to prevent drownings, how to perform CPR/first aid and water rescues, and how to swim. We contributed by teaching basic water polo skills and engaged them in SplashBall games to illustrate how water sports can be safe and fun. It was remarkable to witness the kids go from unable to swim to treading water while passing and shooting the ball by the end of the week.
We were also fortunate enough to participate in Uganda's first ever World Drowning Prevention Day hosted by the Ministry of Health, where we were invited to play an exhibition game against Uganda's National Water Polo Team. After two days of practice, one of the Ugandan camp counselors, Angel, played as our goalkeeper during the game and showed much promise. Before we left home, we had heard that their team needed equipment, so we brought a full cap set, swimsuits, and nearly 100 water polo balls donated by Loyola High School. The best part of the trip was playing water polo with the campers and other volunteers and witnessing their love of the game grow. We are thankful that water polo allowed us to interact with and experience a different culture and connect with such talented young people across the globe. Seeing the vision of using water polo to teach life-saving drowning prevention and first aid skills come to fruition was inspiring. We cannot wait to return next year and stay involved in the growth and development of water polo in Uganda.
