The Campaign

Children in rural communities are left unsupervised while their parents are busy with their chores or are working. So they wander off on their own to play by the river, sometimes they are not far from where their mothers are doing their washing. We added a serrated edge to the swim board and created the Washboard Lifesaver. This Washboard Lifesaver gives mothers an advantage when it comes to emergency situations where every second mothers. A device that turns mothers who cannot swim, into lifeguards, so they can help to rescue a drowning child within their reach.

Creative Execution

The Washboard Lifesaver combines both the functions of a washboard and a swim board. A foam board with serrated edges on one side, and a smooth panel on the reverse side. Mothers use the serrated edges as a washboard, with an easy-to-hold handle. As a lifesaving swim board, a child can easily grasp the handle while being pulled to safety with a nylon rope that extends to 10 metres. The whistle is used to get attention for help. High density compressed 45 EVA foam, a material light enough to float in water yet tough enough to sustain long periods of usage without breaking apart. Designed in the computer and sent to the CNC Milling Machine that cuts 3 boards from a single sheet of foam, then proceeds to cut the serrated edges. The nylon rope and whistle are manually attached and the logo silk screened onto the board.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

The Washboard Lifesaver is a supplementary tool that helps pave the way for the Water Giants outreach program to teach children in rural communities to swim. Besides saving lives, the target audience gets a handy washboard that helps ease their chores, while having the reassurance of a handy lifesaving device. 100 units have been produced to date, and are currently being distributed to low and middle income communities in Malaysia. The Washboard Lifesaver is not for sale. However we continue to seek funding for our outreach program. To see a reduced number of child deaths by drowning in rural communities. The Washboard Lifesaver can be easily mass produced at a low cost, making it affordable for the Water Giants to easily venture into more rural communities across Asia.

The Washboard Lifesaver can be used by the Water Giants to easily venture into rural communities to educate our target audience on the importance of swimming skills for children and the dangers of child drowning. Before the Water Giants are able to teach these children basic swimming skills, we needed to find a way to make the waters safe for them. The Washboard Lifesaver functions as both a washboard and as a lifesaving device. For mothers who do not know how to swim, the Washboard Lifesaver turns them into lifeguards. Handy to be used for their washing by the riverbanks, and lightweight and buoyant to function as a lifesaver swim board to rescue any child who is struggling in the water. Our target audience is low to middle income communities across Asia. Our volunteers interact face to face with them to demonstrate the proper usage of the Washboard Lifesaver.