Greater Western Sydney is home to some of Australia’s most disadvantaged children and many of these families face financial hardship.

The community is Culturally and Linguistically diverse (CALD), with English often a second language. The children have limited access to water and fire safety education, and  first aid training.

Amongst the Sydney population 37% speak a language other than English. In areas of Western Sydney 71% of people speak a language other than English at home and more than 50% of the population were born oversea and as a result many have limited knowledge of the safety risks associated with living in Australia.

Our research tells us drowning deaths in children aged 5–14 have increased by 40% compared to the 10-year average. In disadvantaged, regional, remote, and Indigenous community’s children face a 71% higher drowning rate than in other areas.

Our Challenge

There are over 43,000 children in over 102 public Primary Schools in the lower socio-economic areas covered by our Western Sydney Program. Providing much needed education to these children is our priority for 2025 and 2026. 

We want to equip these children with life-saving knowledge and an automatic response to danger—because not every day goes to plan.

Program Approach

Live Learn Survive has created the Western Sydney Program as an ongoing initiative to provide children in the community with safety and rescue skill education that they may not otherwise be able to access.

When a child faces a high-impact event, knowing what to do in the first few critical seconds can be the difference between life and death.

The program is centred around our interactive workshops run in schools and other youth organisations in the local community.

• Our workshops are hands-on, inclusive, and fun—ensuring children not only understand the risks, but retain the skills.
• From the very same day, the children know how to help themselves and others.

We donate our award-winning children’s books to local school libraries.

We set up ongoing support for continuing education by teachers and community leaders via online support tools , books and information sheets

Program Objective

The program aims to:

• Empower children with the skills and confidence to survive high-impact events such as fire, water, or first aid emergencies.
• Build a generation of resilient, safety-smart young leaders who can help themselves and others at home, school, and in their communities.
• Deliver community-wide impact by reducing preventable injuries and deaths through education that is taken home and shared.

Core Learning Areas

Children will become:

1. Water Smart
2. Fire Safe
3. Life Ready

Immediate Outcomes

After completing the workshop, each child will:

• Have an increased understanding of water and fire safety risks, to reduce the likelihood of them getting into danger.
• Have knowledge of basic water, fire and first aid response skills that they can use safely when an emergency event impacts them.
• Be more confident, prepared and capable in emergency situations at home, school, or in their community.

Long-Term Benefits

• A measurable reduction in community trauma caused by avoidable injury and death around water and fire risks.
• An increase in community resilience through bystander action and being able to confidently assist in an emergency.
• Tangible behavioural change in families—e.g., installation of smoke alarms, creation of fire escape plans, and broader conversations around safety at home.

The program is due to start in September 2025 and will be ongoing.

SEQ is home to some of Australia’s most socially-disadvantaged communities with many families facing financial hardship.

There are also many Culturally and Linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in the area , where English is often a second language and the children have limited access to and water and fire safety education, or first aid training.

For example, within the target area for our program area, Logan council area is home to an increasingly diverse population. According to the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) census, 18.1% of the population speak a language other than English at home. Significantly 27.9% of residents in Logan City were born overseas and have limited knowledge of the safety risks associated with living in Australia.

Our research also tells us drowning deaths in children aged 5–14 have increased by 40% compared to the 10-year average.

In disadvantaged and Indigenous community’s children face a 71% higher drowning rate than in other areas.

Our Challenge

There are over 92,000 children attending 250 public Primary Schools in the lowest socio-economic areas of South East Queensland covered by our program.

Providing much needed education to these children is our priority for 2025 and 2026.

We want to equip children with life-saving knowledge and an automatic response to danger—because not every day goes to plan.

Program Approach

Live Learn Survive has created the South East Queensland Program as an ongoing initiative to provide children in the lowest socio economic communities with safety and rescue skill education that they may not otherwise be able to access.

When a child faces a high-impact event, knowing what to do in the first few critical seconds can be the difference between life and death.

The program is centred around our interactive workshops run in schools and other youth organisations in the local community.

• Our workshops are hands-on, inclusive, and fun—ensuring children not only understand the risks, but retain the skills.
• From the very same day, the children know how to help themselves and others.

We donate our award-winning children’s books to local school libraries.

We set up ongoing support for continuing education by teachers and community leaders via online support tools , books and information sheets

Program Objective

The program aims to:

• Empower children with the skills and confidence to survive high-impact events such as fire, water, or first aid emergencies.
• Build a generation of resilient, safety-smart young leaders who can help themselves and others at home, school, and in their communities.
• Deliver community-wide impact by reducing preventable injuries and deaths through education that is taken home and shared.

Core Learning Areas

Children will become:

1. Water Smart
2. Fire Safe
3. Life Ready

Immediate Outcomes

After completing the workshop, each child will:

• Have an increased understanding of Water and Fire Safety Risks, to reduce the likelihood of them getting into danger.
• Have knowledge of basic water, fire and first aid response skills that they can use safely when an emergency event impacts them.
• Be more confident, prepared and capable in emergency situations at home, school, or in their community.

Long-Term Benefits

• A measurable reduction in community trauma caused by avoidable injury and death around water and fire risks.
• An increase in community resilience through bystander action and being able to confidently assist in an emergency.
• Tangible behavioural change in families—e.g., installation of smoke alarms, creation of fire escape plans, and broader conversations around safety at home.

Every child deserves the chance to survive their worst day.

That’s why we created the Maxi the Lifeguard book series — to make life-saving education fun, relatable, and unforgettable.

Through our Gift A Book, Save A Life initiative, your donation puts these vital books into the hands of children who need them the most — those growing up in Australia's most disadvantaged communities.

There are 3,113 government-run primary schools in the country’s most vulnerable areas.

Reaching them all means 727,000 primary-aged children will have the chance to read, learn, and remember skills that could one day save their lives.

Here’s how it works

Purchase a book, by clicking below and we’ll donate it on your behalf — to a school, public library, community partner like Ocean Heroes, or directly to a family. You can choose where it goes or let us deliver it where it's needed most.

One book. One child. One life changed.
Let’s save lives together.

JUST Click on the button below and follow the prompts.