Joe Zemaitis, FAST founder and president, answers questions about FAST, its partnership with the IRC’s Phoenix refugee resettlement office, and breaking the world record:

Why did you start FAST?

The idea came from one of my swimmers, Braxton Bilbrey, who at age eight became the youngest swimmer to complete the swim in San Francisco Bay from Alcatraz. Braxton’s goal was to help stop kids from dying in pools in the community. FAST developed soon after.

Swim safety class in Phoenix. IRC photo

How did you become involved with the IRC’s resettlement office in Phoenix?

Lori Lause, the mother of a swimmer I coach brought us the idea of outreaching to the refugee community in Phoenix. We learned that most refugee families live in apartments with swimming pools. Refugee children, however, have had an extremely limited exposure to pools and open water. With regard to drowning prevention it is tremendously important to teach these children, who don’t know how to swim and are in particularly risky situations, about water safety. 

Do you plan to continue to work with IRC teaching refugee children?

Absolutely, we have had such an outpouring of community support for this project in particular. The Phoenix-based Hubbard Swim School has given us 100% support, by offering a location for the class to take place, as well as suits for the kids courtesy of Bob Hubbard. It has been remarkably rewarding for the kids, and it works both ways. It is fun for me to see our competitive swimmers’ growth through teaching this program and so many refugees grow through learning and building confidence on both ends. 

What was the Kids Saving Kids Relay?

The Kids Saving Kids Relay was an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for most participants to swim one length each in one hour. The record was previously held by a group from England with 204 participants. We intended to top that record by one, with 205 participants, but we were extremely pleased with our success of 236 swimmers in one hour, two of which were refugees resettled by the IRC.

Why did you want to break the world record?

We saw a great opportunity to raise awareness because August is Drowning Impact Awareness Month in Phoenix, and with the Olympic Games happening, it seemed like a perfect fit. But the world record here is really just Phase One.  In 2009, on May 1 and 2, FAST will host another Guinness World Record attempt for most people swimming one length in a 24 hour relay. This event will require the participation of over 3200 people.  As a truly community-wide effort we will raise a great deal of awareness for drowning prevention.

It’s all the K’s in Uganda – after Karamoja and Kiryandongo, we move next to Kitgum district. The IRC has been working in camps here since 1998 to help thousands of Ugandan people displaced by atrocities carried out by rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army, (LRA).

Since a peace agreement was struck in 2006, people have gradually been moving back home to their original villages, although many still live in small transit camps while they rebuild their dilapidated houses. To ensure these people have the basic services they need, the IRC is also moving with them. For example we’re fixing village boreholes to improve water sources, we’re building essential sanitation in schools, and we’re setting up support centers to reduce incidences of gender-based violence as people return.

An IRC health officer examines a young girl at a special outreach clinic for people now living in transit camps.

We’re also supporting the government’s local health centers to fight a serious outbreak of hepatitis E, a disease that’s killed more than 100 people in Kitgum this year. Our health teams go daily into the field and we’ve set up a special team on the Sudan border – the point of origin for the outbreak –  to diagnose the diseases and offer advice.

As more and more people return home, the IRC is beginning to phase out some of its services. For example, we used to run an adult literacy program in Labuje mother camp. This helped young women like Ajok Irene Innocent, 19, who fled to Labuje about 4 years ago when the LRA attacked her parish of Pagen.

Ajok says, “I dropped out of school when I was 17 to have a baby. I couldn’t stay in school, but IRC’s literacy classes helped me to keep up with my exams and I now go to secondary school like everyone else. It’s definitely helped me while I’ve been in the camps.”

Like many others, Ajok’s family are now getting ready to return to their home village. “We’re just waiting for the long grass to grow so we can use it for the roof of our new house,” she explains. “I want to go home. Here we are too crowded and we have no land.  It will be better at home.”