GPD, DOE teaching kids water safety

by Nick Delgado

Guam - The Guam Department of Education and the Guam Police Department are partnering to teach the island's youth about water and road safety. Authorities were at D.L. Perez Elementary School in Yigo this afternoon showing the various water safety techniques.

DOE Safety Administrator Bruce Williams says this is only the beginning of a new program they are working to develop in an effort to prevent more lives from being lost in Guam's waters. He told KUAM News, "I've seen so many children lost just because wrong place, wrong time they didn't know what to do, when you get in a rip current, the last thing you do is swim against it especially if you are not a good swimmer, but the best swimmers will tell you just go with it until it lets you then you go back in, if you fight it then you're going under."

Williams says they are also teaching the students the seatbelt laws to prevent more traffic related deaths. He says the ultimate goal is to meet with all of the public schools, as well as develop a safety DVD that can be presented to other schools and GovGuam agencies.