That is why a Bendigo swim school is raising money for its Vietnamese sister school; in the hope of saving children's lives by teaching them vital swimming skills.

Paul Sadler Swimland will host a swim-a-thon next Sunday, where students and teachers will swim as many laps as they can over a two-hour period.

Participants are sponsored to take part by friends and family and the Bendigo branch is hoping to raise more than $3000 - the amount it raised last year - for the cause.

The 15 Paul Sadler Swim Schools across Australia are aiming to make a combined total of $15,000.

Manager of the Bendigo school Dwayne Townrow said the number of children who drowned in Vietnam was shocking.

"Those statistics are the main reasons we're doing this - it's the main point," he said.

"The goal is to raise as much as we can."

Swimmers will across all Paul Sadler schools will aim to swim a combined distance of 7098 kilometres - the total distance from Melbourne to Hoi An, where the sister school is located.