Swim lessons for refugees and migrants: everything in your own language, even without a swim instructor [2026]

If you are a refugee or migrant, you can follow and give swim lessons in your own language with the Swimmigo app. The app is completely free for you as a parent: you follow the exercises step by step, enter the scores yourself and download a swim diploma at the end. Note, teaching your child yourself without a swim instructor is never recommended. It is a last resort, only if there really are no lessons possible.

Two barriers: language and money

Not speaking the language

Your child goes to school in the country language, but at home you speak Turkish, Arabic, Ukrainian or another language. If a swim instructor explains what your child should do, you often cannot follow. In Swimmigo you set your own language and read everything in your language.

No money for swim lessons

Swim lessons cost money, and that is not always available. The Swimmigo app itself is completely free for you as a parent: you download the app, follow the exercises and fill in the scores, without having to pay for the app. A pool may charge entrance fees. Swimming in open water is free, but not without danger.

Why swimming is especially important for these families

Anywhere there is water, a child can drown

Drowning is one of the leading causes of death among children worldwide. Your child will sooner or later come into contact with water, in a pool, a lake or the sea. Without swimming skills that is dangerous.

Migrants face extra risk

Research shows that migrants drown disproportionately often. In Australia migrants account for more than a third of all fatal drownings. People who cannot swim and do not know the local waters are at higher risk, and migrants in particular have less access to swim lessons.

In Southeast Asia it is even more urgent

In Southeast Asia drowning is the main cause of death among children. Many refugees come from this region. Swimming skills can literally save lives there.

Only if there really are no swim lessons

We never recommend this

Teaching your child to swim yourself, without a swim instructor and without supervision, is never advised. The chance of drowning in open water is much greater than in a pool. A ten-year-old child is three times as likely to be involved in a drowning incident in open water. Do this only if there really are no lessons possible, always under the supervision of an adult who can swim well, and preferably in a supervised pool.

Hiring a swim instructor occasionally can already help a lot

Swimmigo always advises involving a swim instructor, every lesson or occasionally. If you are able to guide your child yourself, have a swim instructor check in from time to time or give a single lesson. That way you do not pay for full lessons every time, but you do get the expertise of someone who knows what they are doing. That saves money and provides certainty.

Step by step, in your own language

The app guides you through the exercises, from getting used to the water to the first strokes. You read each step in your own language, so you know exactly what to do, even if you do not speak the country language.

Enter the scores yourself

You record how your child performs an exercise yourself, using a simple 0 to 6 system. That way you see exactly what already works and what still needs more practice.

A diploma for your child

Has your child completed a level? Then you generate a free personalized swim diploma with your child’s name, and download it to your phone. That way your child still gets a diploma, without a swim school.

Free tips and guidance

In the app and on the blog you find free tips and guidance on how to teach your child to swim step by step, from floating to the first strokes.

Even if your child does attend swim lessons

Follow the progress in your own language

If your child does go to swim lessons, you connect to the swim instructor and see the progress in the app, in your language. You see what your child is learning and what the status is, without needing to understand the instructor.

The swim instructor fills in the scores

Do you have a regular swim instructor? They link themselves to your child in the app and fill in the scores. You as a parent remain informed in your own language. The instructor also has more functions, such as dividing lesson groups, setting up payments and giving lessons at multiple pools with multiple families.

Conclusion

Not speaking the language does not have to stop you from following what your child learns, or from taking action yourself if there really are no lessons available. The Swimmigo app is free for you and works in your own language. Do it safely, swim lessons with an instructor remain the first choice, and teaching yourself in open water is never recommended.

More about teaching your child to swim yourself: this overview. And about a diploma for every child: this article.

Sources

• World Health Organization: drowning, facts and figures
• World Health Organization Southeast Asia: drowning, a preventable crisis in the region
• Willcox-Pidgeon et al: drowning prevention strategies for migrant adults in Australia, 2025
• Safe Kids: keeping children safe in open water