In 2007 a school was built in a nearby local village. Initially paid for out of Simone’s own pocket, the school gives kids a chance to start a career as dive guides or hotel/resort staff.
Together with the Kehidupan Anda Foundation in the Netherlands, Thalassa sponsors a large part of the diving school in particular, which has turned out to be quite successful. So much so, that the vast majority of graduates end up working at a nearby resort or a liveaboard or anywhere in Indonesia.
We also invite our guests to visit the school as one of our excursions, offering a glance into the daily village life of North Sulawesi school kids.
At our resorts, you will find a donation box. Any cash donated will go directly to our school, for supplies, maintenance and tuition. Another great way to donate is to sponsor a child through the foundation.
Many kids from our school will do dance and music performances at our resorts. For them it’s a chance to shine in front of an audience, for us a way to call attention to the school.
Investing in our local communities is extremely important, that's why we educate and train our own dive staff from the ground up. From a young age they learn how to swim first, after which they go through the entire PADI program to become Rescue Diver, Divemaster or maybe even Instructor.
Besides diving, our students learn how to work in the tourism industry. We do this by offering internships as assistant dive guides, waiters or housekeeping staff. Many resorts in North Sulawesi make grateful use of our interns, allowing them to gain experience for a meaningful job while learning English and interacting with foreign guests.
Every now and then, we have guests who are just jumping at the chance to teach at our school. This is great for many reasons, not least of which the fact that our kids get to do something fun and productive. Our friends at Shark Guardian love to give lectures on the protection of sharks, for instance.
It breaks their daily routine, promotes creativity and gets them to interact with guests — fun for everyone!
Curious about accommodation, rates or diving? Do send us a message with your travel ideas, and we’ll help you arrange your custom-tailored diving trip.
Send us an email — we’d love to hear your vacation plans.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
