Lifesavers from around the world visited RNLI College in August for 2 weeks of intensive tuition on how to run an effective coastal rescue service.

Representatives from Bangladesh, Cameroon, India, Mauritius, Philippines, Senegal, Thailand and Uganda joined us in Poole, Dorset, for the Future Leaders in Lifesaving course.

They studied topics including causes of drowning, the role of a lifeguard, beach risk assessments and how to write a training programme.

The practical side of the course saw the trainees work with RNLI lifeguards on Dorset's Sandbanks Beach. In fact, on 14 August Idrissa Ndiaye from Senegal and Viraj Ramharai from Mauritius helped local lifeguards rescue a boy who was struggling in the water.

Drowning claims an estimated 1.2M lives around the world every year. We’re sharing our knowledge and expertise internationally, in an effort to help reduce this loss of life. Our international work is funded independently of the central RNLI pot.