Because of the work you do matters, we want to help your initiative reduce drowning and education the children around water stewardship in the world! If you are part of a grassroots initiative (NGO or charity) that is near river, lakes or oceans, we want to help you.
Swimming is a Life Skill That Everyone Should Possess.
SwimTayka believes that all children, no matter where they are, should be able to swim. It is a life skill that many of us take for granted, however, there are more than 360,000 lives lost to drowning globally every year, the majority are aged under 18.
These deaths are preventable.
SwimTayka provides free swimming lessons and environmental education about clean water stewardship to underprivileged children who live along the Earth’s open waters: rivers, lakes and oceans. We aim to create a legacy for today’s children, who will grow up to teach the next generation.
We are looking to expand our projects and increase the number of children we reach.
Are you an organisation or charity that is based in a disadvantaged area that local children would benefit from learning this basic life skill?
SwimTayka is looking for organisations to partner with to jointly host projects across the globe.
SwimTayka will:
- Connect you with volunteer swimming instructors and environmental educators
- Provide basic water safety, swimming and clean water education.
Zero Cost
Organisations, not-for-profit, charities must fit the following criteria to become Community Partners eligible for our cost-free SwimTayka Programme.
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- Be geographically located in a waterside community along an ocean, river or lake
- Have programmes in place to serve disadvantaged children
- Enjoy positive relationships with the communities it serves
- Have safety protocols in place for staff, volunteers, and the individuals it serves
We do have preferred criteria of partners, this is not an extensive list
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- Have a history of working with international volunteers and serving the local community
- Be able to facilitate access to swimming locations such as swimming pools and/or open water swim locations
- Share the SwimTayka vision, is as passionate about teaching children to swim and environmental stewardship as we are
- Have similar programmes in place and dedicated staff for environmental education, water stewardship, water safety, and/or swimming
- Have a well-developed board of directors/trustees
- Be open to and capable of cross-promoting our programmes, and assisting SwimTayka volunteers with local logistics such as accommodations, transport, swimming locations, classrooms, field trips, etc.
Community Partner Application
We invite you to learn more about the SwimTayka programme before applying
Some of the success stories
Who Wants To Go The Beach?
The highlight of everyone’s day (children and volunteers alike) is hearing “Who wants to go the beach?” Without fail the universal response is an excited chorus of “yays and yes’s.” The beach segment includes beach clean-up along with individual and team-building games and activities. But the real treat is hopping in the ocean and practising pool drills along with having free time. Volunteering with SwimTayka truly is a unique experience and an opportunity I’m so glad to have had.Gary EmichTraining Teachers In Tanzania Was Fun And Rewarding
One of our biggest issues was the majority of the teachers only spoke Swahili, but thankfully one of the team, Ali had a good command of English and he did a sterling job translating for us. For me, it was a steep learning curve. I’m used to teaching children to swim normally on a one to one basis in the UK. While the work I do in drowning prevention in Bangladesh involves being with the children and getting them confident in the water. Here we were actually training other teachers. But it was fun and rewarding as time passed, to see our students understanding the basics of the new strokes.Becky HorsbrughExciting, Enriching, Fulfilling, And Humbling
I am very grateful for having had the privilege of working with wonderful volunteers, and so many wonderful children who were eager to learn! You just never know the impact you will have on someone, but in this case, it is my hope that because of this program, someone who may have drowned, won’t!Lisa AdamsSuper Helpful Elia
Super helpful Elia, he supports the swimming lessons every morning! He gets in the pool with the trainer Daniel, no matter if there is rain or sun and helps to encourage each one of the children so that they can learn to swim! With a smile on his face and kindness, he influences the children positively!EliaSwimming Lesson With The Children Of Peru
It was an amazing experience and I am so glad I was part of it.Fiona Logan