Peru 2008

As a follow up to our extremely successful 2007 trip to Peru, Lifeguards Without Borders decided to take the next step in ensuring program sustainability and developed a curriculum for training local Peruvian lifeguards to be instructors.  After asking the Peruvian National Lifeguards and the Peruvian Association of Volunteer Lifeguards to choose their most talented lifeguards to take part, we produced and sent a curriculum and set of standards, which were modeled after the recruit class structure of the American Red Cross Volunteer Lifesaving Corps and met the minimum standards of the International Lifesaving Federation.

By asking each participant to show up on the first day of class with a hand painted name plaque, we ensured dedication and a sense of membership to a specialized group.  Through out the course, instructor trainees were taken through a daily routine of a morning stretching and workout hour, followed by classroom work reinforced with intermittent practical in-water skills training.  Our goal was to set an example of what a high quality lifeguard recruit training program should include with the hopes that future peruvian lifeguards would benefit from efficient and practical training.  Instructor trainees were also introduced to more advanced areas of thought like how to design a beach patrol system based on resources, geography, and hazards.