One of Suriname’s most enduring community sports hubs, Parima Swimming Pool, marked a major milestone this Friday with the official inauguration of a brand-new pump room facility, a project designed to cement the venue’s long-term viability, cut operational costs, and advance its sustainability goals.
The comprehensive upgrade represents a total investment of roughly $175,000 US dollars, encompassing far more than just the new pump infrastructure. Beyond the core pumping system, the organization has also upgraded water pipes and control valves, completed critical structural maintenance to on-site buildings, renovated public restroom facilities, and carried out full refurbishments of the pool basins and surrounding grounds.
According to Parima’s board of directors, the facility’s new high-efficiency filtration systems are projected to cut chlorine consumption by between 40% and 50%, translating to approximately $20,000 US dollars in annual cost savings. Board leaders note these recurring savings will allow the organization to fund major future maintenance projects largely from its own operating revenue, reducing reliance on external funding.
The opening ceremony drew a wide range of distinguished guests and stakeholders, including the Director of Sports Affairs Biervliet, Minister of Education Currie, representatives from supporting sponsors, former board members, local swimming schools, and other community partners. In his remarks at the event, Parima Board Chair Maurice Brahim reflected on the venue’s 65-plus year legacy as a core community institution, honoring the founding vision of Willem Campagne, who long advocated for swimming as a fundamental life skill accessible to all.
Over decades of operation, Brahim explained, Parima has evolved far beyond a simple public swimming pool. It has become a intergenerational community space where generations of local residents learned to swim, athletes train and compete, and community members gather for social and recreational activity.
The ceremony also highlighted the board’s advocacy for mandatory school swimming programs, with leaders expressing their hope that swimming instruction will soon be reinstated as a required component of the national school curriculum. Brahim emphasized that investing in swimming education delivers widespread public benefits: it supports athletic development, improves public health, reduces the risk of drowning, and advances equal opportunity for young people across all backgrounds.
The official ribbon-cutting was carried out jointly by former Parima board member Karel Cotino and a young competitive swimmer from Ewald P. Meyer Lyceum, formally bringing the new pump room online. The board closed the event by extending formal gratitude to all sponsors and local businesses that contributed time, resources, and expertise to bring the upgrade project to completion.