March 2024

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When a British man named Tim Conibear moved to South Africa, he never could have imagined what an impact he would have on the local children. He was doing an internship at a vineyard and in his spare time, he would go to Muizenberg, a beach in Cape Town, and surf. The children of the vineyard occasionally went surfing with him.  “Muizenberg may be one of the most [racially] integrated beaches in South Africa, but children from the townships don’t get to go,” he said.

Kids Trapped In A Cycle Of Violence

One of the kids who surfed with Conibear was named Sean. He was 14 years old and was born in one of the poorest and most violent townships in Cape Town. His father had left, and his older brother had been shot and killed in a home invasion. In his grief, Sean turned to drugs and was kicked out of school. “When I met Sean, it all felt so helpless,” Conibear said. “There was nothing for him. In surfing, he found a space to breathe. In me, he found a supporter.” And Sean was not the only one – there were several kids growing up in the violent parts of South Africa. 45% of the children in South African under 18 have witnessed a killing, 56% have been victims of violence, and many suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. “More and more kids would turn up each weekend. There was nothing like this for them in the townships. Nothing,” he said. Tim decided to change that.

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Surf Therapy For Children

He started taking the kids for surfing lessons, but it was not enough. “As time progressed, so our relationships changed. The barriers that stood in the way of these young South Africans growing up in townships became apparent. My role as a friend altered. I was called into various situations for which I was in no way prepared, operating in an environment that was entirely foreign and at times highly uncomfortable,” Conibear said. So he created the program called Waves for Change, which utilizes surf therapy to reach out to the children. As the organization expanded, he recruited and trained local kids to be surf coaches and lifeguards.

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Learning Lessons Through Surfing

The methods of the organization are based in therapy techniques. “There are lots of little lessons in surfing that relate to coping mechanisms in real life,” Conibear said. “For example, when a kid goes through a traumatic event, they lose trust in people. We focus first on reconnecting kids to each other – so they teach each other to float and to swim, which is a very healing process. And then we help reconnect them to adults and build coping strategies so they can regulate their behavior in tricky real-life situationsWe created something kids want to come to. It’s exciting. And it’s really working.”

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SEE ALSO: This Indian Village Is Saving Little Girls In An Innovative Way. Find Out How.