💙 Can you spare two weeks to teach children to swim... and have the ADVENTURE of a lifetime?!? 💙

Published: Wed, 10/22/25

Updated: Thu, 10/23/25

💦 Have the experience of a lifetime 💦
Choose from volunteer programmes in Bali, Brazil, Peru or Uganda teaching crucial swimming skills to children

Looking at the news or social media can feel a bit of a doom scroll at the moment, but it’s heartening to know there are many bright rays of light out there making a positive difference in people’s lives.

These bright rays include SwimTayka, a swim charity that saves young lives by running free programmes around the world, teaching children swimming and drowning prevention skills.

These are life-changing – and indeed life-saving – skills to give to children. And guess what? YOU could be one of the volunteers teaching them!

Choose a volunteer programme in a stunning location – Bali, Brazil, Peru or Uganda – and next year you'll be embarking on the most rewarding trip you’ll ever take.

Keep reading to find out more about how you can sign up to the volunteering experience of a lifetime in 2026.

Start planning your overseas ADVENTURE!

Abi Whyte
Digital editor, Outdoor Swimmer

“I thought it would be a really cool experience to travel the world, meet new people, help the children and make them smile.” SwimTayka volunteer

🤸 Make a positive difference next year! 🤸

With SwimTayka, you CAN!

Do you have swim teaching skills? Do you love helping people? Are you interested in travel? Fancy volunteering?

Then join all this together in one amazing adventure, by volunteering on one of SwimTayka’s swim teaching programmes.

SwimTayka’s mission is to teaching drowning prevention skills to children in communities who live alongside water, but have little or no access to swimming lessons.

Every year, people like YOU take the plunge, travel to one of SwimTayka’s programmes, and change the lives of these children – and change their own lives too.

“I left feeling proud of my students’ progress and, in turn, proud of myself. The experience was wonderful and eye-opening. I hope to do it again sometime.” SwimTayka volunteer

Who can volunteer?

SwimTayka wants volunteers who have:

A love of swimming and are proficient in front crawl, breaststroke and backstroke.
An up to date DBS check.
A spare two weeks to help teach children to swim while enjoying the volunteering experience of a lifetime!

FIND OUT MORE

SwimTayka's commitment – and yours

You book and pay for your flights, and also commit to some fundraising for SwimTayka – this helps cover your local visit expenses and provides vital funding to support the charity’s life-saving work.

SwimTayka takes care of everything else, including airport transfers, all your food and accommodation and, of course, making sure you have an amazing time!

💙 Cairo's story 💙

Cairo, a student from Vancouver, runs her own swim school. She volunteered for two weeks in Bali with SwimTayka. To fund the trip, Cairo completed a 1.5km sponsored lake swim.

Cairo was inspired to volunteer by her desire to travel the world, meet new people, and help children, drawing on her background as a competitive swimmer and her experience working with children.

During her time in Bali, she had several moving experiences.
She taught a girl who had survived three near-drowning incidents, and was so impressed by the girl’s courage at getting back in the water. She also successfully helped a boy with special needs get comfortable and enter the water, which thrilled his parents.

“My experience volunteering in Bali brought me so much joy. It was all about building connections with the children and offering them new opportunities, particularly through sharing the beautiful sport of swimming with such grateful and eager learners. To be a role model for them, and see their smiles and watching their confidence grow was truly special. Experiencing their culture and way of life, which helped me feel more connected to them, was invaluable,” says Cairo

💙 Ellen's story 💙

Ellen is a retired attorney from New Mexico. She runs a swim school and loves to combine travel with volunteering. She spent two weeks on our Bali programme, as part of a six-week visit to the island.

“I love to travel and I love teaching swimming; teaching swimming is my mission in life. The kids loved being in the water and they are so cute. I got these two girls to swim so beautifully, right across the pool, which was really great. I would absolutely recommend volunteering to other people. I’m over 60 and the other volunteers were in their 20s, so it is good for any age,” says Elena

Your next step

Are you inspired to volunteer? Would you like to find out more? SwimTayka is more than happy to answer all your questions and look forward to welcoming you as one of their volunteers in 2026.

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