Philip´s story

"My name is Philip Kobena Blankson and I am from Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana. I joined ANOPA Project Swimming lessons in 2012 when I was only 10years old. At the time I didn’t know how to swim even though I was staying closer to the sea. All my friends didn’t know how to swim too. One day we were playing around my neighborhood when we saw some kids learning how to swim with some European instructors. We got interested but we had to seek permission from our parents with a consent form before we would be allowed to enroll on the program. For me it wasn’t easy to convince my parents because there were so many drowning cases of especially children so my parents wouldn’t allow me initially. It took the intervention of the ANOPA Project Managers one year to be able to convince my parents to join. When I joined other kids had already advanced so I had to start with the beginner class. As a shy person I was quite timid but I managed to get along with the motivation of both the local and international coaches. I didn’t think I could improve in less than a year when I was promoted to the advance class. My confident level had increased and I was able to compete for laurels in National Swimming Competitions and others. In 2014 I won bronze at the National Swimming Competition held in Accra by the Ghana Swimming Association. I also won silver in Kumasi the following year 2015. In September, 2016 I again won bronze in the Lincoln International School swim meet in Accra. All these achievements encouraged by parents and they became very happy for me. I am now more social and have more confidence than before. I was certified by the German Swimming Association as Sports Assistant Swimming Level 2 in October 2017 after a swimming course organized in collaboration with ANOPA Project. Today I am 19 years old and I have been volunteering for ANOPA Project as a swim Coach where I train deaf and non-deaf children and the youth how to swim and how to get familiar with water. I am very happy to be helping others especially the differently able children in order to help them fight stigma, promote their confidence and also promote their overall wellbeing and inclusion within their communities and society as a whole. I am very thankful to ANOPA Project for giving me such an opportunity and being able to influence lives positively. I encourage every kid whether able or differently able to learn how to swim and I am always ready to help them learn."