Aman Foundation, PALS renew beach rescue service contract

As beachgoers continue to throng the city’s shores despite a turbulent sea, the Aman Foundation on Friday renewed its contract with the Pakistan Life Saving Foundation (PALS) for provision of life-saving equipment to the latter.

In line with the terms of the MoU, it was agreed that the boats, engines, and other related equipment owned by the Aman Foundation will be donated to PALS – an internationally accredited lifeguarding establishment.

The contract was signed at a ceremony held at The Aman Foundation's head office in Karachi.

The foundation will be providing 13 life-saving rubber boats, 30 safety and life jackets, 10 floating tubes, 18 engine spares and other life-saving equipment.

The organisations had previously in 2012 signed a contract to sustain the invaluable lifeguard services for the next five years. 

The lifeguard services were first revived by Aman Foundation in early 2011 through the disbursement of a capacity building grant to PALS.

The grant was used to employ 100 well-trained lifeguards to protect the city's most popular beaches. In the process, PALS provided employment to members of the local community residing near the beaches.

The project, named Aman PALS, has been operational for over five years and has been credited with saving hundreds of lives since its launch.

The boats, engines, and other related marine equipment will also be utilised by PALS in their Outdoor Adventure Tourism activities to raise funds to continue running the PALS rescue services.

PALS President Reza Samad, who signed the MoU on behalf of PALS, said the Aman Foundation's grant to the lifeguarding establishment serves as a means for the rescue service to continue saving lives at sea.

He was thankful to Aman Foundation for the grant and trusting PALS with the foundation’s state-of-the-art equipment.

Malik Ahmad Jalal, CEO Aman Foundation, said that in light of the recent drowning at the Sandspit beach, it is important to undertake steps to improve safety measures at our beaches.

“Not only are we saving lives but we are also generating employment opportunities for the local communities through this partnership,” he said.

Over 4,200 lives have been saved through the collaborative efforts of the Aman-PALS lifeguard service in Karachi, it was further pointed out.

With the recovery of bodies of two drowning victims from two separate beaches a day ago, the total count of drownings reported in May reached 19.

The Sindh government on Wednesday imposed a ban on bathing in the sea off Karachi’s beaches for six months.