Loving it in Bali

Kieran Pascoe is volunteering at Bali's Kuta Beach as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development. where he’s working to improve the swimming and lifesaving skills of Indonesian children, swimmers and lifeguards.

CONTRIBUTED

AS IMPORTANT as the work is that Kieran Pascoe is doing at Bali's Kuta Beach, even he can see the funny side of his unusual path.

"I'm pretty easy to spot here in Kuta," Mr Pascoe said.

"Being the only non-Indonesian lifeguard and six-foot-five inches (1.95m)."

Through the Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD) program, the 29 year-old is working to improve the swimming and lifesaving skills of Kuta's lifeguards.

Mr Pascoe worked as an Indonesian language teacher and a swimming instructor on the Coffs Coast before relocating to Bali and has settled into his volunteer role relatively quickly.

"I did have to adjust to a different pace of life and work when I first arrived but I'm really lucky in that I've not experienced culture shock or anything like that," Mr Pascoe said.

"I've lived in Indonesia before; actually Indonesia feels a bit like a second home to me."

Day-to-day life for Mr Pascoe involves running a series of bronze medallion courses for current and prospective Kuta lifeguards as well as pool, hotel and water amusement park lifeguards and surfing instructors around Bali and in neighbouring Java.

"It's great seeing changes in our trainee lifeguards," he said.

"They start off being slow and clumsy to sprinting and diving into the water to pull people out."

Through the year-long, AusAID-funded volunteer program, Mr Pascoe is also leading training workshops and education sessions for children on water and surf safety and basic swimming using materials he has created himself.

"I'm about half way through my AYAD placement and now well aware of how I can be of use to this lifesaving club and how I can maximise my time here."