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The core objectives of PALS are two
pronged:
One: to provide a Public Service to the people visiting
the beaches - and
Two: to provide employment as life guards, to the
impoverished coastal communities. PALS is employing over
150 people from the coastal villages from Sandspit to Mubarak
Village.
All the 150+ lifeguards employed belong to the poor fishing
communities situated along the coastline (the rationale
for employing people from the coastal communities is that
they are naturally good and strong ocean swimmers in addition
to the fact that the beaches they patrol is their back yard
and no one knows these coastal water better), thereby providing
a much-needed livelihood to an otherwise impoverished society
of the country
| Pointers: |
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1.
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Karachi has an extensive coastline with
over 35 km of public beaches. The Arabian Sea is considered
a rough sea by international standards as compared with
the Indian Ocean which it merges into. |
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2.
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Karachi citizen's are supposed to grow
up with the sea, it's something we take for granted.
It's fun, familiar...but a DEADLY! Over 250 people die
in Karachi waters every year. |
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3.
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Lack of swimming skills and public awareness
are major causes of these accidental deaths by drowning. |
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4.
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PALS is an NGO which that has been formed
to ensure that people are safe in and around water -
at home, in public pools, at the beach, in lakes, in
rivers or out at sea. |
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5.
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PALS vision is to ensure everyone in
Pakistan will have the water safe attitudes, skills,
and exhibit the necessary behavior to use and enjoy
our water environments safely. |
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6.
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PALS core philosophy is achieving water
safety through education. PALS is committed to leading,
profiling and achieving water safety in Pakistan through
education, training and development, and actively promoting
water safety awareness. |
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7.
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MISSION: Thru water safety education,
prevent death by drowning. |
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8.
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Since July 18, 2004 , when PALS started
its first day of patrols on Karachi's beaches (holidays
only until sponsorships are secured), there have been
'zero drownings' to date with over 100 rescue and preventive
actions performed by PALS lifeguards every patrol day. |
Areas of Responsibility
Keeping in view the
fact that PALS is being established from ground up, it is
proposed to split the areas of responsibilities into stages
for simplification in implementation. The stages being:
Stage One - Initial Responsibilities
Stage One responsibilities involve the basics of life
guarding. The focus at this level will is to indulge in
those activities that are more focused on near-shore recues
and are dependant on man-power as opposed to capital intensive
equipment. The services under this stage have a significant
life saving impact on the general beach going public and
is the building foundation of any life saving establishment.
The services and responsibilities currently
being undertaken include:
• Water rescue of swimmers and recreational
water craft users (near shore - within 2 KM into the water)
• Beach patrol and accident prevention education
• Emergency medical aid
Stage Two - Eventual Responsibilities
Stage Two responsibilities include those areas of lifeguard
operations, that although essential, cannot be put in place
due to the current financial constraints at PALS. These
areas of responsibilities will become part of lifeguard
duties, once the equipment for carrying out these responsibilities
have been acquired and essential training levels achieved.
In order to achieve this level of operations, PALS will
need to ensure that an organized private donation/funding
process is in place. This may take several years after initial
start of operations.
Responsibilities will include;
• Boater rescue (fishing & recreation) up
to three miles offshore
• Boat fire suppression
• Underwater search and rescue
• Missing persons and related emergencies
• Ambulance transportation to city hospitals
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