Swimming is

Fun
Aniek Wijaya
Hanny Juwita
 Sasa always loves it when
Dimas comes over.
She and her cousin are
happy to play anything as
long as they are together.
Their favorite game is
Javanese chess.

1
 They can play it anywhere.
Dimas is Sasa’s biggest rival
in Javanese chess.
They always take turns
winning and losing.

2
 Aha! This time Sasa wins!
She manages to place three
pieces in a line.

3
 “Um, I have to go to my
swimming lessons,” Sasa
says reluctantly.
She is hoping that she can
skip her lessons to keep
Dimas company.
“Swimming?” asks Dimas. “I
want to come, too!”

4
 Sasa is confused. “You want
to come swim?”
“Yes. I can swim now, you
know,” Dimas chimes.

5
 Sasa is still unsure.
Why is Dimas holding a ball,
not a kickboard?

6
 You can use my kickboard,”
Sasa offers.
Taking turns using the
kickboard is a good idea.
This way, Sasa can have an
excuse to swim less.

7
 Come on, Sasa,” Dimas says
excitedly.
He hops off the car as soon
as it is parked.
“I’m coming,” Sasa replies.
She looks at Dimas in
bewilderment.

8
 Sasa takes her time walking
there.
“Hurry up, Sasa!” Mom
calls.

9
 Sasa, you’re late,” Mr. Eri
chides.
“Quickly get ready and
warm up.”
“I’ll be joining too, Sir,”
Dimas said.

10
 Dimas rushes to get
changed.
Unlike him, Sasa takes as
long as she can.
“Sasa, you only have 5 more
minutes to get ready.” Mr.
Eri warns again.

11
 You can start warming up
now,” Mr. Eri tells Dimas.
“You need to warm up so
that you don’t get cramps
when you swim.”

12
 Sasa is in her own world
with her book. But as soon
as she sees Dimas getting
into the pool, she puts her
book down. She rushes over
to help him.

13
 “Dimas, use my kickboard,”
Sasa insists.
“And you, Sasa, should
warm up with Seli,” instructs
Mr. Eri.

14
 Sasa is still worried over
Dimas’s determination to
swim.
Luckily, Mr. Eri is always
there to help him.

15
 Now Sasa needs to use
her kickboard. Mr. Eri tells
Dimas to take a break at the
poolside.

16
 To Sasa’s surprise, Mr. Eri
makes her practice longer
than usual. Hmm, maybe
this is Mr. Eri’s way of
disciplining Sasa for her
tardiness.

17
 Sasa peeks at Dimas from
the corner of her eye.
Oh no, it can’t be!
Sasa hurriedly swims over
to help Dimas.

18
 But Dimas is cheering with
glee!
“I’m swimming after the ball,
” he shouts.
Phew! What a relief.

19
 The day’s swimming lessons
ended with breathing
exercises. They have to
collect coins at the bottom
of the pool.

20
 There the coins are. Who
will collect more coins?

21
 It’s a tie!
Oh no, it is already time to
go home.
Sasa wants to keep playing
in the pool with Dimas.

22
 Learn More
Dimas in this story has a
physical disability. He wears
a tool called a prosthetic
leg. A prosthesis is a tool
that is made to resemble
and replace a limb.

23
 About This Project
Prejudicial stereotypes,
discriminatory attitudes,
and low expectations for
children with disabilities
create barriers to education
and other opportunities for
advancement opportunities.
To address this challenge,
Asia Foundation country
offices in Indonesia and
in the Pacific Islands
collaborated to write ten
stories that normalize the

24
 representation of children
of varying abilities and
emphasize their capabilities.
Visit www.letsreadasia.org
to read the stories with text,
audio, or Sign Language.

25
 Brought to you by
Let’s Read is an initiative of The Asia Foundation’s Books
for Asia program that fosters young readers in Asia and
the Pacific.
booksforasia.org
To read more books like this and get further information
about this book, visit letsreadasia.org.
26
Original Story
Swimming is Fun. Author: Aniek Wijaya.
Illustrator: Hanny Juwita. Editor: Damar
Sasongko, Eva Y. Nukman.Editor: Damar
Sasongko, Eva Y. Nukman.
Published by The Asia Foundation - Let’s Read, ©
The Asia Foundation - Let’s Read. Released under
CC-BY-NC-4.0.
This work is a modified version of the original
story. © The Asia Foundation, 2022. Some rights
reserved. Released under CC-BY-NC-4.0.
For full terms of use and attribution,
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Contributing translators: Jody Roy