Swimming is a life skill that can save your life as well as an Olympic sport. Drowning is one of the leading causes of death around the world, especially in children. As a matter of fact, about ten people die from unintentional drowning every day, and of these, two are children under the age of 14. The World Health Organization lists Africa as having the highest rate of drowning in the world, with the region accounting for 20% of drownings worldwide. “These statistics are alarming and with the drowning rates on the rise on the coasts of Cameroon in cities such as Kribi, we felt it was important to implement water safety programs in partnership with the Cameroon Swimming and Lifesaving Federation. Part of our mission at NO LIMIT INTERNATIONAL is to improve the health and living conditions of the population. By increasing water safety programs in the community, we help newbies in the swimming world acquire skills competencies that can not only save their lives but also those of others around them as well. We want to promote swimming not only as a recreational activity but also as a skill that saves lives. That’s our first objective”. – Orlyanka TANTCHOU

Water is everywhere and being comfortable in the water is a necessity of life. The promotion of water safety education programs in the neighborhood will encourage children to learn to swim and enjoy being around water. Swimming is a life skill that everyone should have the opportunity to do in a fun, safe and friendly environment. An enjoyable learning experience could be the start of a life-long love of  aquatic activity. Beside learning how to swim to save lives, swimming is also an Olympic sport that can provide excellent opportunities to the youth to gain confidence; learn self-discipline; and participate in competitive swimming at the national/international level. “our second objective is to empower the youth to enjoy swimming as a sport and also encourage the young stars in the swimming clubs by equipping them with first-class swimming gears that will help them swim faster”. Orlyanka TANTCHOU

The donation ceremony occurred during the National Youth Week in Cameroon and took place on February 12, 2022 at the Swim Olympic Club of the Federation in Douala, Cameroon. The day was marked by the official launching of the swimming season (2022-2023) at the federation in the presence of government and federation officials as well as the swimmers of different clubs registered for the season. 

The president of the Cameroon Swimming and Lifesaving Federation, Mr. El Hadj Relouanou CHARABOUTOU said “We are very thankful to NO LIMIT INTERNATIONAL for their continued support of the federation. As an official sponsor of the federation, they’ve helped us organize swim meets throughout the years; and today, again at the occasion of the official launching of the swimming season; they’ve marked their presence with the precious donations of 100 swimming gears and other equipment to the federation, which will be redistributed to the clubs and individuals participating in swim safety programs. We want to assure the founder of the NGO, Ms Orlyanka TANTCHOU that these donations will be properly utilized and we invite her to look for more opportunities for our federation, especially, now that we have 4 stadiums in the country with multi-sports complex being built with Olympic size swimming pools. Thank you again for your full support”.

In response, Ms. Orlyanka TANTCHOU reassured the federation: “we share with the federation the same values and commitment to promote the sport of swimming and we will keep on looking for partners that can help us improve the state of swimming in Cameroon. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our partner, A3 Performance in the United States who has provided us with the swimming equipment seen today. I think it’s a unique opportunity to partner with the private sector and promote a unique sport. You can play soccer or basketball on the streets but you can’t swim on the streets. We need swimming pools; we need swimming equipment in order to promote swimming as a sport and lifesaving skill in the community. So, we hope that many more swimming equipment manufacturers will follow A3 Performance lead and help us champion swimming in Cameroon”.