Refugees help break swimming record / Phoenix

Dipendra Chauhan and Prithi Man Tamang, Bhutanese refugees who competed in the record-breaking relay in Phoenix.

Photo: Megan O'Connor/The IRC

Like the Olympic swimmers breaking records in Beijing this week, swimmers in Phoenix  —  including two Bhutanese refugees resettled by the International Rescue Committee —  broke a swimming record on Sunday.

A group of 236 swimmers set a new Guinness World Record for the most participants to swim one pool length each in a one-hour relay.  The event, the Kids Saving Kids Relay, raised funds and awareness for the Foundation for Aquatic Safety and Training (FAST), which teaches water safety skills. 

The two refugees, Dipendra Chauhan, 15, and Prithi Man Tamang, 20, became friends while living in a camp for Bhutanese refugees in Nepal.  Dipendra and Prithi Man were resettled along with their families in Phoenix by the IRC earlier this year. They were asked to represent Arizona refugees and the IRC by swimming in the relay.

“We are very happy to be here in the United States, and in Phoenix.  The mountains remind my parents of Bhutan,” Dipendra says. The IRC partnered with FAST in 2007 to teach refugee children and parents in Phoenix the importance of water safety.   With so many swimming pools in the Phoenix area, drowning is a major concern, and refugees may not be familiar with the dangers of pools. 

Dipendra races his lap in the relay. (Photo: Megan O'Connor/The IRC)

Through the FAST program, competitive swimmers work with experienced swimming instructors to teach water safety one-on-one to refugee  children .  The most recent FAST classes took place this summer and included 16 Burundian refugee children resettled by the IRC. 

“The Phoenix community has literally jumped right in, with hundreds of volunteers, and a great deal of support,” Megan O’Connor, IRC development associate in Phoenix, says. “The Hubbard Swim School of Phoenix has generously donated free pool usage, and many parents have donated swimsuits and towels as well as their time.”

Check back next week here for a Q&A with Joe Zemaitis, the founder and president of FAST.