At a private poolside in the suburbs of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, Emeka Chuks-Nnadi has his eyes fixed on the water.
He watches from the pool’s edge as his students enter the pool one by one. “Don’t fight the water. Let it hold you. Relax your muscles. The water wants to keep you up,” he exhorts the kids, his gaze tracking each movement.
Today, he is teaching them to float. When a visually impaired boy in the group finds his balance in the water after struggling for a bit, the coach’s face is a mix of relief and pride.
Emeka, aka the Swim Guru, thrives on these moments. They also explain why he founded Swim In 1 Day in 2022, a charity teaching swimming and water safety to children with disabilities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“My purpose is to turn fear into freedom and to give children, especially those living with disabilities, the life-saving gift of swimming,” he tells TRT Afrika.
A life redirected
This wasn’t always Emeka’s path. He used to run a tourism and events company in Spain’s Barcelona, managing over 150 employees. Business was flourishing until COVID-19 coursed through the world in 2021, destroying everything in its path.
“The pandemic gave me time to visit Nigeria for five months in 2021, and that trip changed everything,” recalls Emeka.
While swimming at Oniru Beach in Lagos one day, he noticed some homeless children gathering there to watch him navigate the waves. Their reaction when he emerged was revelatory in more ways than one.
“They cheered and applauded me, and I realised just how vulnerable they were to the sea. Nobody had taught them water safety. Somehow, I knew then that I wouldn’t go back to Europe,” Emeka tells TRT Afrika.
The foundation for this calling was laid decades earlier; just that Emeka didn’t know it then.
He began swimming at nine under the tutelage of his father, “a very good swimmer” who was determined to pass on his skill to the entire family.
Emeka’s mother planted a different seed, regularly taking him to visit underprivileged children in Nigerian care homes.
“My mom was always trying to teach us that for you to be a happy person in life, you need to see everybody as equal, and you need to love and uplift everybody around you,” he says.
Those early life lessons continue to guide Emeka as he swims against the tide.
Startling statistics
Drowning remains one of the most unnoticed causes of mortality worldwide. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports an average of over 300,000 drowning deaths globally every year, which works out to more than 30 lives lost every hour. Africa bears the heaviest toll.
