Cape Town - Sentinel Ocean Alliance (SOA), a Hout Bay-based NPO, has partnered with the Freedom Riders Foundation (also known as Jeffreys Bay Surf Club), to bring surf therapy and ocean education programmes to Jeffreys Bay.
The project aims to make community-based mental health services accessible to vulnerable children from under-resourced coastal communities while providing a respite from the stress caused by daily adversity and the resources to master surfing and meditation.
SOA runs a similar project at its Parley Ocean School in Hout Bay.
Director of operations, Marguerite Hofmeyr, said: “We realised that in order to get the children from our communities to fall in love with the ocean, they first need to get over their fear of the ocean. By teaching them how to swim, and making them realise they can use the ocean as a resource – a place where they can find joy, find respite and can come to calm down.”
Hofmeyr said surf therapy was an evidence-based programme developed by Waves For Change that fused the rush of surfing with mind-body therapy for children and young people who were exposed to high levels of trauma, violence and adversity.
She said the programme in Jeffrey's Bay would focus on therapeutic and health outcomes, rather than sport performance, and the NGO would use elements of its Parley Ocean School programme to teach the children about the oceans.
Freedom Riders Academy programme manager Daniel Jeggels said: “I am excited to take our programme to the next level by teaching ocean education and life skills through surfing to make a lasting contribution to the lives of the kids from my community.”
Jeffreys Bay Surf Alliance founder and partner of the Freedom Riders Surf Therapy Programme Cheron Kraak, said there was a need for a programme like this in the area as the impact of Covid-19 on the community had been far-reaching.
“Not only has education been severely disrupted, but these kids are also battling other huge violations such as poverty, violence and loss of household livelihoods,” said Kraak.
Hofmeyr said they intended to focus on making sure their programmes in Cape Town and Jeffreys Bay run smoothly, but their next goal was to set up another programme on the West Coast.