About
History
The program opens new connections among the young surfers and increase the sense of belonging to their community
The SurfKids Shredding Senegal project came into being in 2019 with the aim of using sport as a tool for social change. Through the values of surfing, the project aims to build a sense of belonging to a community, and to keep the children involved away from the streets, the drugs and bad companies.
When surfing, children and youths learn the ability to analyze the conditions of the surf spot and determine which maneuvers are feasible in those circumstances. This process helps them to develop problem-solving skills that they can apply in their daily lives.
By sharing time with the children, Marta and Aziz realized the lack of education and motivation to go to school; often the children spend the day at the beach, with a broken board, trying to surf.
The project builds on some main pillars, including:
- Supporting access to quality school education and providing tutoring
- Achieving success in surfing through quality coaching
- Promoting surfing among local girls by creating female role models
- Providing employment to local surfers
By working on these specific objectives, we want to support the children in Senegal to develop their skills, self-confidence and future prospects, while creating a positive impact within the local surfing community.
We believe in these kids and we believe that surfing can open life opportinuties to them
Team
The project wants to be a circle where the first beneficiaries reinvest theirselves in the project for next generations
Marta, the creator of the project, envisions training a group of young beneficiaries to take full ownership by learning, training, and becoming coaches and mentors for the next generation. The mission is to encourage older beneficiaries to reinvest in the project once they have found their path, and for some this reinvestment is already happening. The goal is for the project to become entirely local, managed by the young surfing community.
Marta
ISA surf coach and judge
Federal surf coach
Member of the Africa Surfing Confederation
Co-founder of the Malika Surf Camp
Aziz Kane
ISA surf coach
Federal surf coach
Co-founder of the Malika Surf Camp
Member of the Senegal Surfing Federation
Aita Diop
Surfer and Lifegard
Surf instructor in the Malika Surf Camp
Young leader for the community
Amy Klein
Co-founder of the Surfkids Shredding Senegal Foundation
Finance and Administration Manager
Director of DeBonte Koe
Traveler and surfer