ASHEVILLE, N.C. — According to the USA Swimming Foundation, Black children ages 5 to 14 are three times more likely to drown than white children.

Because of those numbers, people like Tiffany Iheanacho brings her 5-year old daughter to the Asheville YMCA for swim lessons. She said in communities of color, swimming pools are harder to come by, but she still doesn’t want her daughter not to have lifesaving skills.

“Over the course of a few weeks, I can see that she has reduced her anxiety,” Iheanacho says.

The USA Swimming Foundation also reports that 64% of Black children cannot swim, compared to 45% of Latino children and 40% of white children.

Iheanacho says it’s also important for her daughter to be able to have fun as a kid, while still knowing how to be safe.

“Making sure that having access to that early on, she’s able to enjoy water activities like other kids her age,” Iheanacho says.

Swim lessons consist of Iheanacho staying in the water with her daughter the entire time, and she said that has allowed them to build a new bond together.

“They’re really depending on you to be in the water with them and to look them in the eye and reassure them that everything is OK,” Iheanacho says. “There can really be a sense of fear when there is nothing under your feet.”