Swim Vietnam's "wonderful new pool in Nguyen Du school in Hoi An."

Swim Vietnam’s “wonderful new pool in Nguyen Du school in Hoi An.”

Swim Vietnam sends a big thank you to the Vietnam Swans and our generous sponsors for donating nearly $15,000 in 2012 (and this does not include an additional $5,078 donated to Swim Safe in Danang and the Vung Tau Orphanage which brought the Vietnam Swans total donated to swimming causes up to $19,680).

Below, Jo Stewart from Swim Vietnam says more.

Thank you to Vietnam Swans

Swim Vietnam would like to give a huge thank you to everyone at Vietnam Swans for your support in 2012. With various fund raising events you raised a whopping $14,602 for Swim Vietnam.

  • Corporate Golf Day, donated by Montgomerie Links – $425 (additional $425 donated to Swim Safe, Danang)
  • Sapa 21 Marathon Fundraiser – $5,207
  • Swing to Swim Golf Day, Montgomerie Links, Danang – $4,150 (additional $4,150 donated to Swim Safe, Danang)
  • AFL Grand Final Party (including motorbike donated by Golf Life Tours), Saigon – $3,352
  • Battle of the Codes, Saigon – $482
  • Essendon Jumper Auction (donated by Doc n Deb Watson) – $992
  • ANZAC Friendship Match, Vung Tau – $503 (additional $503 donated to Vung Tau Orphanage)

GRAND TOTAL SWIM Vietnam– $ 14,602

This amount makes a massive difference to our program. It only costs around $20 to give one child 18 survival swimming lessons which could help save their lives. So the Vietnam Swans have been directly responsible for teaching another 730 children in 2012. We look forward to continuing our relationship in 2013. On behalf of all the children you have helped to teach a skill for life which could save their life – Thank you!

Swim Vietnam Achievements in 2012

  • 1,762 more children successfully taught to swim. Over 4,000 children since program inception.
  • New swimming facility built in Nguyen Du primary school in Hoi An. This will be used to provide all school children in the surrounding area with free swimming lessons.
  • Portable pool installed and new swim program started in Duy Chau village in Duy Xuyen District (a poor rural area outside Hoi An).
  • Two experienced Swim Vietnam teachers sent to Australia to be trained as AUSTSWIM teacher trainers.
  • Swim Vietnam children win first place in 2012 Provincial swimming champions. 4 children are sent to compete in the National competitions.

Aims for 2013

We now are operating four swim schools: two in Hoi An and two in Duy Xuyen District. We

aim to teach at least 2,500 children in these venues in 2013. We also hope to expand into Dai Loc District which is a nearby area which suffers particularly from flooding due to its proximity to the Thu Bon River.

“Train the Trainer” – newly trained teacher trainers, Vinh and Trung, return from Australia to teach new skills to teachers in Duy Xuyen district.

“Train the Trainer” – newly trained teacher trainers, Vinh and Trung, return from Australia to teach new skills to teachers in Duy Xuyen district.

In early 2013 we will hold our third AUSTSWIM Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety training course which will be presented by our newly trained Swim Vietnam teacher trainers where they can put their newly learned training skills into practice. This will be the first time we have run an internationally recognized teacher training course, in Vietnamese, by Vietnamese trainers. We will train sport teachers in Dai Loc District and train more teachers in Hoi An and Duy Xuyen.

Many thanks to everyone at Vietnam Swans for your much needed support. We look forward to continuing our partnership in the future. Together we will be able to continue to reduce child drownings in Vietnam.

Best regards

Jo Stewart
Director – Swim Vietnam Director

Response from the Vietnam Swans National President, Phil Johns

Congratulations to Jo Stewart and her team at Swim Vietnam for making the waterways and coastline of Vietnam so much safer. It is a terrific result and is very satisfying for everyone associated at the Vietnam Swans that so much good has come from teh money that we have raised.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank Jon Tomlinson and Montgomerie Links, Danang for its amazing generosity. Through the Swing to Swim Charity Golf Day, a total of $8,300 was raised (half was shared with Swim Safe, Danang) and the auction of a corporate round of golf raised an additional $850 – $9,150 in total for organisations supported by the Vietnam Swans.

The Vietnam Swans are extremely pleased to be associated with Swim Vietnam and two other organisations: Swim Safe and teh Vung Tau Orphanage.

Thank you very much to all our donors and the people who gave so generously with their own cash and their time.

Original thank you and report from Swim Vietnam

To read Jo Stewart’s original thank you and report, click onto Swim Vietnam Report 2012.

Donations to Swim Vietnam

If you would like to donate to Swim Vietnam, or would like to visit their website, click onto www.swimvietnam.com