The young people of Turtle Island get acquainted with the benefits of the sea

The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation is supporting an important project in Haiti, on Tortuga Island, alongside L’Appel – an international solidarity association that carries out development actions for children and their communities. The objective is to teach the basics of swimming to the children of the 50 schools of the island while contributing to their discovery of the coastal maritime domain.

The lessons are given mainly to primary school children, but also to teenagers and teachers of the island – the latter benefiting primarily from an introduction to safety at sea.

The overall vision of the project is to create, among young people, an awareness of the benefits of water and the natural richness of their island – in order to favor an economic development that aligns with a respect for the environment.

On the isolated island of La Tortue (Tortuga Island) in the north-west of the country, L’Appel has been working since 2003 to benefit education and local schools. On this 37 km long island, with a population grouped mainly on its plateau at 300 meters above sea level, the situation is appalling: most turn their backs to the sea, do not know how to swim and fear the water. Beyond the problem of a high drowning rate on the island, this fear leads to an abandonment of aquatic and maritime activities and is an obstacle to the island’s economic development.

Faced with this situation, ADETOM (Association of School Directors for a Better Tortuga) has started a learn to swim program.

Project goals:

To give teachers the means to ensure the safety of swimming lessons on the beaches of Tortuga Island.

To educate students between the ages of 8 and 16 about protecting their natural environment and to teach them how to swim.