ISR Certified Instructors often describe our mission as a call to action. Inspired from their own experiences with children and water, these dedicated professionals serve their communities in order to realize our mission to ensure Not One More Child Drowns. Fernanda Whitney, ISR Certified Instructor, shares her unique story about how she first became involved with ISR and how proud she is to make a difference in her own community.
Children and water share a natural connection. But, when children are not prepared with the skills to survive in the water, there can be tragic results. I first learned about ISR from Harvey Barnett, Ph.D., who created the program to prevent drowning. Immediately, I knew I wanted to be involved in this program’s mission because I knew first-hand how it feels when a loved one is lost to drowning, and because I love working with children and I wanted to make a difference in Brazil.
Drowning causes more than 7,000 annual deaths in Brazil. Unfortunately, two of my family members tragically drowned 12 years ago. At the time, my cousin Tania lived with her husband Beto and her two children, Flora (5) and Uyra (2), in a small farm south of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Their house was located near a river and Tania often took her children to play near the water. One day, Tania didn’t see her children left the home to play unsupervised. Neighbors said they heard Tania screaming the children’s names, and then heard a girl crying. When the neighbors made it to the area, they were too late. Tania and Uyra had drowned. Later, we learned that Floria and Uyra had been playing with a ball near the water. The ball rolled into the water and, in their attempts to retrieve it, both children fell into the water. Tania made it in time to pull Flora from the water, but she could not find Uyra. Even though Tania was not able to swim, she would not come out of the water without her son – she never gave up her search. Both she and her son drowned in the river, a tragedy that could have been avoided if Tania and her children simply knew how to float.
Later, I came to the United States and studied Hotel Management. It was difficult for me to adapt to a new culture; but, I soon realized children are the same in both hemispheres. I learned that what I love most is working with children. As I continued school, I worked as a nanny and I intended to become a pre-school teacher. From my own swimming experience, I taught one child I worked with as a nanny, Harriett, how to swim when she was nine years old. After a few years, I learned she was swimming on her school’s swim team and often regarded as “the best” on the water. I was so proud of her. And I was so proud of what I had helped her accomplished because I was so committed to doing the best I could for all the children I worked with.
Soon I became a mommy. Spending time with my baby was the most fun, and to keep us busy, we started taking all sorts of classes in our community. Because of what happened to my cousin in Brazil, the first class we took was when we enrolled Sophia in neighborhood swimming classes. I was disappointed because I didn’t feel she was learning more than how to splash around in the water – she wasn’t learning how to survive in the water. I researched swimming courses online and that’s where I found ISR.
I was amazed by the videos that I saw and I decided that my daughter, Sophia, would have to complete this program. However the only instructor near my home in Naples, Florida, was 45 miles way. Sophia was only six months old and didn't like to ride in the car, so I waited until her first birthday. One week after her birthday, she started taking classes with ISR Certified Instructor Kathy Cole. It was unbelievable. My baby was swimming! I was in love with the way that Kathy was teaching my daughter. The idea of becoming an ISR Certified Instructor became a dream for me.
Every year, I spend three months in Brazil with my family. I knew ISR would be a wonderful program for my Brazilian community. There were no ISR Certified Instructors in Brazil at the time, and not even a similar program was available. So I had the idea to post a video of Sophia’s swimming class on my blog to see what Brazilians would think about the program. The video included information about ISR, the ISR website, and my email address so people could get more information about the program in Portugese. The response was amazing! More than 300 people watched my video and I received more than 150 emails from Brazilians interested in the program.
So I decided to become an ISR Certified Instructor. I now teach in Naples and Marco Island, Florida and Brazil. In life we often search for a reason to live, a purpose to our daily routines. Although money is necessary to support our existence, I don’t want money to be the reason for mine. I really want to spend my life doing something that can make a difference, and improve the quality of life for others. Today I have already taught over 200 kids and in 2010 I took ISR to Brasil, and now ISR Brasil has 5 instructors! Being an ISR Instructor fulfilled my dreams. If even one child's life can be saved, one family saved from the horrible suffering of that child's loss then my work is most definitely worthwhile. – ISR Certified Instructor Fernanda Whitney
For more information about ISR Certified Instructors in your community, please visit the ISR Certified Instructor locator and contact us http://bit.ly/XNdH5R.
