Four dedicated young leaders have turned their passion for water safety into a life-saving mission through a powerful partnership between the NSRI and SCOUTS South Africa.
Western Cape, South Africa (29 October 2026) – We’re all called to do something of significance in our lifetime. For four driven young people, that calling has meant diving into community leadership as skilled lifeguards to protect lives around the water.
The journey began with an inspiring group of 196 participants eager to become water-safety leaders in their local neighbourhoods. Through an ongoing partnership between the NSRI and SCOUTS South Africa’s Western Cape Region, these 196 YeboScouters took part in vital water-safety training earlier this year.
From that dedicated group, 25 have stepped up as certified drowning-prevention educators, while four candidates: Ameer Abrahams, Ryan Hendricks, Lauren Kelly, and Danielle Kriel, have progressed on a journey of becoming fully skilled lifeguards.
For SCOUTS SA Western Cape Region Scouting-in-Schools Programme Manager Tasmin Kriel, seeing them reach this point is a proud milestone.
“They have shown commitment, resilience, discipline, and a willingness to keep learning despite the challenges and responsibilities that they face in their daily lives,” she says.
According to the NSRI, those qualities matter because becoming a lifeguard requires far more than being a strong swimmer. It is about prevention, awareness, teamwork and knowing how to respond when something goes wrong.
“A lifeguard’s real skill is prevention,” explains NSRI Lifeguard Operations Manager Rebecca Carter-Smith.
“Most of the job is stopping incidents from happening in the first place.”
Over five days, the candidates worked through the demanding skills required of a pool lifeguard. All four successfully completed their CPR skills test, shallow-water rescue scenarios, spinal management and patient recoveries.
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“The biggest improvement was in their swimming. From not being able to swim the 25-metre length of the pool to swimming 16 of those lengths,” says NSRI Lifeguard Trainer Abijah Appolis.
“Even though the speed to make qualifying time is not quite there yet, they’ve still made large strides in progress.”
Their swimming fitness remains the final hurdle, as candidates will continue training before returning to complete the required timed swim assessment, along with their final theory and practical assessments.
For Rebecca, their progress is already an encouraging indication of their potential.
“What stands out isn’t just that they’ve picked up the physical skills; it’s the discipline and consistency they’ve shown moving from foundation fitness and theory through to practical rescue scenarios in a short, intensive programme,” she says.
That is also why the programme’s impact extends beyond the question of whether all four ultimately qualify as lifeguards.
NSRI Honorary Life Governor and NPO Cooperation Project Leader Keith Burchell sums up the broader ambition behind the partnership in six words: “Saving lives, changing lives, and creating futures.”
By equipping young people with water-safety knowledge, practical skills and opportunities to serve, the partnership is building capacity within the very communities where those skills can make a difference.
As Tasmin puts it:
“Beyond the technical skills, they have become role models who can promote water safety, inspire others, and make a positive difference in their schools and communities.”
For these four YeboScouters, the next challenge is clear: keep swimming, keep training and get those qualifying times down. And if their first five days in the pool are anything to go by, they have already shown they are prepared to work for it.
Sources: NSRI
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