Your next trip: explore, swim, volunteer and change lives

Overseas adventures, discovering new countries, swimming in exciting new places… why not add volunteering to the experience with SwimTayka?

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Overseas travel, exploring new countries, swimming in new locations… how about throwing volunteering into the mix?

Because with SwimTayka, there’s an opportunity to combine all four, with the swim programmes they run around the world.

Swimming and volunteering with purpose and passion

Set up nearly 10 years ago, SwimTayka’s mission is to teach drowning prevention skills to children living alongside the world’s oceans, rivers and lakes, who have little or no access to swimming lessons.

With more than 236,000 people drowning every year – the majority of whom are children, often living in poorer communities – the need is urgent.

So this is where the charity’s volunteer programme is perfect for people wanting to travel, swim and give something back.

The model is simple and effective: SwimTayka partners with a local NGO or charity in each area, to set up a swimming programme or support one that is already running, by providing volunteer swim instructors.

While the children learn lifesaving skills, the other goal is create a pool – pardon the pun – of local swim instructors, with recognised qualifications, so the programmes become self-sustaining.

Since they started, more than 13,700 children have now been reached via the programmes, and some 9,700 children have successfully graduated in survival swim skills.

International swim programme locations

Over its near decade, SwimTayka has run programmes in nine locations around the globe, and is even due to launch a pilot programme in the UK too.

Next year, programmes will be running in Peru, Bali, Uganda, and Brazil. And launching in 2026 is a brand new programme in Vietnam. All five are amazing locations, offering an experience to volunteers who are looking for something different, and international, and unique.

Peru

Running from January to February, this programme’s location is in the beautiful coastal location of Huanchaco, working with NGO partners Otra Cosa Network (OCN) and Boqueron Surf School.

OCN supports women and children year-round, helping improve literacy, environmental education, sports, and girl empowerment. Boqueron teaches surfing as a life skill to the most vulnerable children.

Bali

Volunteers on SwimTayka’s Indonesia programme, in Bali, will join during July, August, or September, partnering with local NGO Swimdo.

Together with local swim instructors, Balinese children are taught essential swimming and water safety skills. This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to drowning prevention and community well-being in a beautiful setting.

Uganda

This is the location for SwimTayka’s newest programme, along the banks for Lake Bunyoni, Africa’s second deepest lake.

This programme runs from July to August, and again from December to January, working alongside a local instructor and teaching vital swimming and water safety skills to children in the Kabale District.

Brazil

Join SwimTayka’s sixth annual project in Itacaré, Southern Bahia, partnering with NGO ETIV do Brasil. This beautiful fishing village is nestled where tropical rainforest meets the Atlantic, boasting rich Afro- Brazilian culture.

Running for two months from October to November, this programme will teach over 100 local children vital swimming lessons, drowning prevention, and environmental water stewardship.

Vietnam

New for 2026 – you could be among the first volunteers on this incredible new programme.

OPPORTUNITY AT A GLANCE:

• Two weeks volunteering on a SwimTayka programme of your choice
• All airport transfers, accommodation and meal expenses included – you just need
to pay for your flights
• Fundraising minimum amount £1,500
• No swimming instructor qualification required
• Full support from SwimTayka before your trip, and from the local NGO during your trip
• Guaranteed memorable life experience, saving lives and making a difference

The volunteering experience – in their own words

Volunteering is an amazing experience – but don’t just take our word for it.

Over the years, dozens of volunteers have joined the programmes, and all have found they get back as much as they put in. It’s a truly life-changing experience.

Georgina, who volunteered on the Peru project, said: “It’s been an incredible, memorable experience.”

Emilie, who helped in Brazil, said: “The children are so grateful to have the opportunity to take part, because they don’t have a lot. Learning to swim gives them so many opportunities, like surfing, or diving.”

Debbie, who helped during the first year of the Uganda programme, said: “Age is no barrier to volunteering – I am in my early 60s now. It’s perfect if you enjoy working with children and other young people. To see the sheer joy from the kids is incredible – they are very welcoming.”

And Cairo, who volunteered alongside a friend in Bali, sums it up perfectly: “My experience volunteering 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. Being able to help by supporting children with learning differences and helping them feel valued and successful was incredibly rewarding. I left feeling proud of my students’ progress and, in turn, proud of myself.”

Tempted to volunteer? To make a difference to children’s life chances and have an amazing, life changing experience at the same time? Email volunteer@swimtayka.org or find out more at swimtayka.org/volunteer2026/