Our story began with a simple question: "Did you learn to swim?" The answer stayed with us - "No... but I used to paddle around in my uncles's buffalo pond." Since then, Buffalo Pond has been delivering accessible water safety education, swim lessons and community programs across Lombok and beyond - helping people build confidence, skills, and a safe relationship with the water.
Our mission
10,000
individuals empowered through our basic water safety skills program
1000
fully funded scholarship swimming programs to children across Indonesia
10,000
water safety education books delivered to schools and communities across Indonesia
100
local swimming teachers training across Indonesia
Buffalo Pond was born out of a combined love of water, the Lombok community and passion for Social Impact. We are working to address the shocking reality of drowning rates in Indonesia – A recent report found that there are 4,518 drownings per year in Indonesia & is a leading cause of death for children, with the highest rates amongst children aged 1–9 years.
This is not only devastating for communities, but also a socioeconomic development challenge with non-fatal drownings causing hypoxic–ischemic brain injury that may result in long-term disabilities ranging from memory problems and learning disabilities to total loss of basic functioning.
1 - No Poverty
3 - Good health & Well-being
4 - Quality Education
5 - Gender Equality
6 - Clean Water & Sanitation
8 - Decent Work & Economic Growth
10 - Reduced Inqualities
11 - Sustainable Cities & Communities
13 - Climate Action
Find quick answers to the most common questions about our programs, training, and registration process.
Community consultation has helped shape Buffalo Pond with community input, aligning our business plan with community needs. Our commitment to ongoing consultation means we’ll continually seek input from both local and expat communities.
We are committed to ensure that consultation is not only seen as a pre-emptive step but an ongoing one. We will constantly be seeking information and open to learning from various groups within the community.
Swimming contributes to the achievement of nine out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
These include:
SDG 1.1: Eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day;
SDG 3.2: Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages;
SDG 4.2: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all;
SDG 5.4: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls;
SDG 6.1: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all;
SDG 8.1: Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances, and in particular at least 7% per annum GDP growth in the least-developed countries;
SDG 10.7: Reduce inequality within and among countries;
SDG 11.1: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable;
SDG 13.1: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Donations play a vital role in ensuring that water safety remains accessible to everyone in our community, regardless of their circumstances. Donations will subsidise swim safety program costs when barriers exist. Funds also support the ongoing costs to support day-to-day operations.
