One Lap at a Time

Being Neighbourly x Victoria Ahn, Splash Foundation

Author/ Being Neighbourly
11 July 2025

According to Victoria Ahn, Director of Communications for the Splash Foundation, almost half of Hong Kong does not know how to swim, that is, despite the amazing pools and coastline we have here and the wealth of physical, social and mental wellbeing benefits that being in the water brings.

For those who don’t yet know, the Splash Foundation is a charitable organisation that creates opportunities for kids and adults from disadvantaged communities to experience the transformative impact of learning to swim and to enjoy lifelong access to the water.

They’ve been making waves for a decade, ever since Simon Holliday, Splash co-founder and Chief Development Officer, reached out to a group of swimmers with the bright idea of teaching a few migrant domestic workers how to swim. “Our other co-founder and CEO, Libby Alexander, was the first to respond, and from this start the Foundation continued with their mission to connect people who knew how to swim with people who wanted to learn.

“We’ve since taught nearly 10,000 people how to swim,” says Ahn, adding that over the years, they have expanded their beneficiary groups to include other ethnic minorities, children and parents from low income communities, and children with special educational needs in Hong Kong, and through their YouTube channel, beyond.

“We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn to swim. By improving access to swimming, we enhance wellbeing and ignite long term change in the community. By 2030, Splash Foundation aims to teach 25,000 people how to swim.”

The work of the Splash Foundation is centred around three key strategies: designing and delivering Learn to Swim programmes that are inclusive, fun and effective; training, empowering and connecting people who know how to swim – including their beneficiaries – with people who want to learn; and building awareness about learning to swim as a life skill and vehicle for personal growth, resiliency, wellbeing and connection.

Behind their efforts is funding that comes through a combination of grants, partnerships and donations. “We run two major annual fundraising events: Splash Dash Relay and Make Waves for Hong Kong,” says Ahn, adding that even their fundraising events are built around swim experiences that highlight swimming as a life skill and as a vehicle for personal growth, resiliency, wellbeing and connection.

According to Ahn, additional direction comes from the Foundation’s values: “To be Welcoming – Everyone is welcome and everyone is equal at Splash; to have Heart – We put our heart and soul into teaching; and to be Effective – we are results-focused and good at what we do.”

“Coaching is positive and collaborative. We create environments that foster community and personal growth. Participants forge lasting friendships and together, they open the door to the transformative benefits that swimming brings,” she says, hailing their curriculum as “world-class”, in its prioritising of building water confidence and safety skills. It is designed to take an absolute beginner to swimming 25 metres in just 12 to 20 hours.

Overseeing swimmers’ progress is a diverse network of volunteers and professional swim teachers and the Foundation trains graduates of their programmes to become coaches. “This has been game-changing for our organisation. Graduate coaches and captains make up 35% of our programme delivery team,” Ahn enthuses.

A staggering 3.8M+ people around the world have watched their Learn to Swim series, and 28,900+ people have subscribed to their YouTube channel aimed to impact their outreach efforts, not just in Hong Kong but other countries like Indonesia, Philippines, India and Bangladesh.

“We developed our Learn to Swim Youtube series for two reasons: one to help participants to visualise and review what they learn at the pool and two to share a curriculum that we know works. By digitising our curriculum, we are reaching communities around the world and staying true to our mission to give every person the opportunity to learn to swim.”

The top six places in terms of viewing are: Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Hong Kong, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

For those who wish to get involved in supporting Splash, there’s a variety of ways. The Foundation welcomes new volunteer coaches; you can donate (with a donation of just HK$2,000, you can help someone learn to swim their first 25m in 12 weeks); or, you can become a Good Pool Partner, generously opening your doors to provide free or discounted pool space so Splash can teach more people how to swim.

What is the best thing about the work that you do?

“The best thing about the work we do is being a part of a community that is all heart,” says Victoria Ahn, Director of communications at Splash Foundation, adding that everyone involved is there because they want to share the joy of being in the water.

“Our participants not only want to achieve this skill, they also want their classmates to succeed, they want their friends and family to learn and they want to continue on as coaches and captains to help other beginners too.”

“Learning to swim is transformative – it changes how you think about yourself and others around you. The ripple impact of one person learning to swim is incredible to witness,” she says.

Splash Foundation
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