The World Health Organization (WHO) under the SAVIOUR concept has created a low cost, effective and easily accessible floatation device for the children. It consists mainly of two things, empty plastic bottles and an individual module. These modules are made easily accessible and can be 3D printed upon demand. It is a commendable attempt to help children in low income areas learn how to swim so that they can save themselves when an unfortunate phenomenon occurs.
This tool can effective in keeping the kids afloat as they gradually pick up swimming abilities. The floatation device consists of a module made out of interlocking tubes which allows the user to attach multiple plastic bottles to the tube around the rim and help the product and the person utilizing it to stay afloat. It has proven to be highly effective and requires very low cost to assemble, thus making it an ideal life saving tool for those who do not have many sources at their disposal.
This ‘The Saviour Modular Swimming Set’ was declared as the winner of the Golden Pin Design Award for the year 2020. There are two ways in which the Saviour floatation device can be assembled by the person using it. One way is by framing a U shaped apparatus which can be used to train children while swimming. Another way is to turn it into an O shaped device by joining multiple pieces and closing the U shape. The O shape device can be used by the children as a tube.
An amazing by product of the Saviour is that it can be made completely out of waste plastic bottles which help in recycling these bottles into soothing which is capable of saving lives. Also, once a plastic bottle gets damaged, the device is designed to make it easy to be replaced with another one. This allows the person using this device to quickly repair and upgrade their training gear. The bands which are used in this model are made out of vibrant colors which increase its visibility. This makes it easier to spot the user even while floating at a distance.
According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) drowning is recognized as the third leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide. It is estimated that drowning constitutes to around 320,000 deaths worldwide every year. It has also been found out that children, males and individuals with increased access to water are most the risk of drowning. Amongst all this low and middle income countries suffer by over 90% of un-intentional deaths by drowning out of which the highest numbers are found to be in the African region.
Out of all this most of the deaths occur during floods, as per the report by the World Health Organization (WHO). Natural disasters such as floods are becoming more and more frequent. So in order to avoid any mishap towards children specifically, this design can be considered as a boon for those who are frequently affected by water related calamities. People belonging to lower socio economic class and also infants and children who are left unsupervised can use this simple and cost effective tool. The Saviour, with all its contributions towards saving lives can be considered as a huge step towards saving lives.
