John Dory’s launches ‘Beyond the Shore’ initiative to save lives

In a country blessed with an abundance of water, from backyard pools to sprawling coastlines, it is staggeringly common to hear about children lost to drowning. This isn’t just a statistic; it’s an urgent call to action for every parent, every household, every community. And now, seafood restaurant chain John Dory’s has stepped up to turn the tide through a powerful and simple initiative that puts the power to save lives right into the hands of the customers.

According to the World Health Organization, drowning claims the lives of an estimated 300 000 people globally each year, with the majority being children under 14. In South Africa alone, hundreds of children drown annually, often in preventable situations. Many of these tragedies occur close to home; in pools, rivers, and even buckets of water.

And yet, drowning is entirely preventable.

How? By teaching children Survival Swimming from an early age. Beyond being a fun skill, swimming is a vital life-saving tool. It builds confidence, discipline, and resilience while keeping children safe in and around water. John Dory’s Beyond the Shore initiative is exactly that lifeline, turning what might seem like a simple meal into a powerful opportunity to fund Survival Swimming lessons and water-safety education nationwide.

For every Double Hake & Chips meal sold, R1 goes straight to Beyond the Shore, a social impact initiative run in partnership with the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI). This programme offers free survival swimming lessons for children who wouldn’t otherwise have access, crucial water-safety education, and life-saving skills that extend far beyond the shore. Survival swimming lessons focus on four essential skills: controlling breathing, orienting in the water, floating, and moving at least five meters when out of their depth.

“By educating and equipping communities, we embody the principle that while drowning can happen to anyone, it should not happen to anyone,” said Caville Abrahams (NSRI Drowning Prevention regional coordinator in the Western and Northern Cape).

In 2024, John Dory’s launched its first funded project, providing survival training to a group of under-resourced children in Durban and 300 children completed the programme. In February this year, it funded a swimming programme in Boksburg, launched through John Dory’s partnership with the NSRI where 265 children completed this programme. This project is the second of four major Survival Swimming initiatives rolling out in 2025/2026. The latest initiative is a George project which began in September where 180 children completed the programme. The next project is a primary school in Katlehong, where 180 more young swimmers will gain these critical life-saving skills.

No child should drown in preventable water accidents. Together, we can change that narrative, one meal at a time.

For more information, please contact Lungile Nyembe, OnPoint PR | az.oc.rptniopno@elignul.

About Spur Corporation:

Spur Corporation is a leading casual dining franchised restaurant group with over 738 outlets throughout South Africa, Africa, India, and Mauritius. Its brands include RocoMamas, Spur Steak Ranches, Panarotti’s, John Dory’s, The Hussar Grill, Doppio Zero, Casa Bella, Pizza e Vino, Nikos, and Modern Tailors. For more information, visit https://spurcorporation.com/ or www.spurfoundation.co.za.

For more information on John Dory’s, visit https://www.johndorys.com/za.