SwimTayka are long-standing partners with a local NGO in Bali, SwimDo, and together we have helped teach hundreds of children swimming and drowning prevention skills.
But thanks to our new ambassador programme, our swim schemes in Bali and the other countries where we operate are working even more effectively. Because now, we are also teaching the swimming teachers. And this means, because their skills are being enhanced and improved, then so are the swim courses they deliver.
We spoke with Amy Holden, an experienced swimming teacher, aquatics tutor, international trainer, and owner of her own swim school, who served as our ambassador in Bali this summer. She spent three-and-a-half weeks on her second visit, having first volunteered in 2022 for two weeks. Her mission was to strengthen the swim programme and expand its impact.
“I found the programme through a Facebook post, and being the ‘why not?’ person I am, I decided to give it a go,” Amy said. “When I first got involved, I saw how much the programme had grown and how solid the curriculum was. But the teachers lacked a deeper understanding of the science behind swimming or how children learn, which limited their ability to teach effectively. For example, they were excellent at teaching life-saving backstroke, but didn’t incorporate related skills, like safe falling techniques or rotational movements.”
In total, Amy trained 13 teachers in her first week. She was then joined by two teachers from her own swim school – Sarah and Caitlin – who came out as volunteers, and helped train a further eight.
Amy stayed connected with the programme when she came back to the UK and can see from video evidence how much the level of teaching has improved. The children are learning more skills and more swimming strokes.
Now the teachers have an internationally recognised teaching qualification, Amy hopes the Indonesian government will take swimming and the need for drowning prevention more seriously.
“I found it really interesting to learn about new cultures, the language and how, as a tutor, we couldn’t rely on speech and language as the main means of communication. It really put my own teaching to the test and made me think about how people learn. It was massively rewarding, and great to give Sarah and Caitlin the opportunity. They’d now like to do their tutor training too.”
Amy is hoping to go out to Bali again next year, as SwimTayka ambassador. But this time she’ll take her oldest daughter, Evellyn, with her, who wants to volunteer on the programme.
“She’s about to do her swim teacher qualification. It will be great for us to do something together and she is really keen to come out. And now I can say to new swimming teachers that not only is it a great job, but you can also travel the world too!”
The SwimTayka Ambassador Empowerment Initiative (SAEI) offers an exciting opportunity for enthusiastic individuals to represent SwimTayka and its mission. As an ambassador, you will play a key role in promoting water safety, drowning prevention, and environmental responsibility. You’ll connect with your local community, support our programmes, and help empower underserved children around the world by providing crucial swimming education. You can find out more here.
Amy has some advice for anyone considering becoming an ambassador or volunteer. “SwimTayka makes the process easy. They help with travel arrangements, pick you up from the airport, arrange safe accommodation, and make sure you’re well taken cared for, while still allowing you the freedom to explore on your own.”
Listen to our PodCast on this too: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/cFknSRc03Nb
