The Darcey Sunshine Project

Every year, approximately 235,000 lives are lost to accidental drowning across the globe.  90% of these drownings occur in low to middle income countries,  and for children age 1 – 14, drowning is among the top five causes of death.  

The Darcey Sunshine Project is a Scottish charity formed in September 2022 in memory of Darcey Elizabeth Sunshine Doig. Darcey was lost shortly before her fourth birthday in early 2020 in a tragic accident in a backyard pool.  In the wake of their devastating loss, the Doig family set out to prevent accidental drowning through community education and survival swimming lessons.  It was their wish that no other parent should suffer such an unfathomable loss.

To date, The Darcey Sunshine Project has been supporting it’s sister organisation in South Africa, The Darcey Sunshine Foundation NPC, 870 children drown in South Africa each year.  Through empowering children and their families with a greater understanding of water safety and survival skills, The Darcey Sunshine Foundation hopes to drastically reduce that staggering statistic.  We achieve this through the creation of partnerships between local swim schools and preschools from vulnerable communities.  

Their flagship drowning prevention curriculum has seen over 500 children learn the life skills that could one day save their life.
They were delighted to be selected to present their programme on a global platform at The World Conference for Drowning Prevention in Australia this SCIO has become a proud member of Water Safety Scotland, and aims to address water safety education in Scotland through partnership and consistent messaging.  Cold water shock is the biggest threat in Scotland.  Through open water safety roadshows in the lead up to the busy 2024 summer season, we will reach 9-15 year olds across Scotland with the skills they need to survive should they find themselves in cold water.  With your support, we can make this wish
a reality!

Drowning can happen to anyone, but IT IS PREVENTABLE!  Through education, we can SPREAD SUNSHINE, AND SAVE LIVES.