Living in a warm climate like California means fun in the sun at the pool and the beach, however, drowning poses a real risk to young people. Students at Aliso Niguel High School set out to bring an end to drowning by educating the youth.
Stop Drowning Now is a national nonprofit organization founded in 2004. Its main goal is to prevent deaths from drowning.
Ava Adibi (11) is a junior at Aliso Niguel High School. She founded the club, Stop Drowning Now, for the school in order to spread awareness about water safety with the help of its members.
To drown is to die through submersion in and inhalation of water. This can happen in less than two inches of water, especially for toddlers and small children.
Ava Adibi has spent countless hours on the pool side, both as a lifeguard and a swimmer. She understands the importance of education around water safety. While pools and the ocean can be a fun place, it is easy for several different factors to turn the relaxing experience down a dangerous path.
When asked about why she feels so passionately about creating awareness around the subject, Ava Adibi said, “I think a lot of people don’t realize drowning can happen to anyone.”
The Stop Drowning Now club is very active in and around the community. The role of members is to go on field trips to elementary schools to give presentations about drowning protection. They also go to city events in collaboration with lifeguards and other non-profits to spread awareness.
Most recently, the club attended an event in Huntington Beach. In collaboration with the Huntington Beach Lifeguards, firefighters and swim schools, attendees were able to learn about water safety in and around the ocean.
Drowning is a worldwide problem, claiming thousands of lives each year just in the US. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has conducted many different studies and its findings are scary. The CDC identified drowning as the leading cause of death for children one through four years of age. Additionally, the organization would find that 4,000 people have a fatal drowning experience, with a staggering 11 deaths due to drowning a day in the United States.
Drowning can take less than 30 seconds and can be non-fatal as well. The CDC would also find that annually there were 8,000 events of non-fatal drownings.
Dr. Darien Sutton, a Board Certified Emergency Medical Physician, was asked about how to prevent drowning other than being educated. He said, “it’s really important to pay attention.”
A lot of times, families go to water parks or large bodies of water and assume someone will look after their family for them, but this failure to take care of children commonly leads to drownings.
Clearly drowning is a serious problem plaguing American society. Too many people have lost loved ones, both young and old, to negligence and ignorance. The continued efforts of Ava Adibi and the Stop Drowning Now organization is imperative to help put an end to this watery pandemic.
