At a private poolside in the suburbs of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, Emeka Chuks-Nnadi has his eyes fixed on the water.
He watches from the pool's edge as his students enter the pool one by one. "Don't fight the water. Let it hold you. Relax your muscles. The water wants to keep you up," he exhorts the kids, his gaze tracking each movement.
Today, he is teaching them to float. When a visually impaired boy in the group finds his balance in the water after struggling for a bit, the coach's face is a mix of relief and pride.
Emeka, aka the Swim Guru, thrives on these moments. They also explain why he founded Swim In 1 Day in 2022, a charity teaching swimming and water safety to children with disabilities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
"My purpose is to turn fear into freedom and to give children, especially those living with disabilities, the life-saving gift of swimming," he tells TRT Afrika.
A life redirected
This wasn't always Emeka's path. He used to run a tourism and events company in Spain's Barcelona, managing over 150 employees. Business was flourishing until COVID-19 coursed through the world in 2021, destroying everything in its path.
"The pandemic gave me time to visit Nigeria for five months in 2021, and that trip changed everything," recalls Emeka.
While swimming at Oniru Beach in Lagos one day, he noticed some homeless children gathering there to watch him navigate the waves. Their reaction when he emerged was revelatory in more ways than one.
"They cheered and applauded me, and I realised just how vulnerable they were to the sea. Nobody had taught them water safety. Somehow, I knew then that I wouldn't go back to Europe," Emeka tells TRT Afrika.
The foundation for this calling was laid decades earlier; just that Emeka didn't know it then.
He began swimming at nine under the tutelage of his father, "a very good swimmer" who was determined to pass on his skill to the entire family.
Emeka's mother planted a different seed, regularly taking him to visit underprivileged children in Nigerian care homes.
"My mom was always trying to teach us that for you to be a happy person in life, you need to see everybody as equal, and you need to love and uplift everybody around you," he says.
Those early life lessons continue to guide Emeka as he swims against the tide.
Startling statistics
Drowning remains one of the most unnoticed causes of mortality worldwide. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports an average of over 300,000 drowning deaths globally every year, which works out to more than 30 lives lost every hour. Africa bears the heaviest toll.
Statistics collated by WHO also show that an estimated 66,000 people died from drowning in Africa in 2021, representing 22% of global drowning deaths. That's a casualty rate of 5.6 for every 100,000 people.
More troubling still is that while global drowning rates decreased 38% since 2000, the African continent reported only a 3% reduction.
As a swimming coach, Emeka finds this frustrating as much as it is distressing. "Why is drowning not taught as an obligatory course in schools? Why are children with disabilities not given subsidised water therapy?" he wonders.
Emeka's training programme extends beyond teaching swimming technique.
"Most drowning accidents happen because people don't understand body buoyancy. When you panic, your muscles tense and you sink. We train people to stay calm and survive," he explains.
While funding remains a constant challenge, Emeka continues adding new elements to his mission. His plans include creating a children's swimming anthem for schools, focused on safety guidelines set to music.
He also envisions boot camps for swimming instructors and televised programmes to disseminate knowledge about swimming as a survival skill across Africa.
"Of all the jobs in the world, this is the most fulfilling. Transformation happens before your eyes. You give someone a survival skill for life, and you can't put a price on that," Emeka tells TRT Afrika.
Hope floats
Emeka and his Swim in 1 Day team have trained hundreds of children from disadvantaged homes while sponsoring training for at least 500 children with disabilities. The Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs has acknowledged his efforts.
Egbon Oluwafemi, a 16-year-old amputee, is among those whose lives have been transformed.
"After my accident, I was discriminated against; no one was willing to play with me, and I was alone at home," he recounts.
"I saw this swimming camp as an opportunity to be happy once again. Since I started, my life has changed. I feel like a hero. I feel on top of the world. I feel the sky is my limit. I swim three hours at sea non-stop."
Segun Vidal, 19 and visually impaired, harbours even bigger ambitions. "Swimming has given me freedom and self-belief. I am training for the 2028 Summer Paralympics in Los Angeles," the teenager declares.
