Director, Isiqalo Foundation
Community

The Inertia

Editor’s Note: Only 1% of South Africa’s mental health staff are allocated to helping the nation’s youth, which is why Waves For Change is helping children who have been victims of violence, seen extreme violence, or battled with any kind of emotional trauma they’d otherwise be left to fight on their own. Their therapy comes from the simple, beautiful act of catching waves. 

Every surfer remembers their first wave. At least the first time they stood and trimmed across an open face. It’s the year zero moment when we start talking of “life before surfing’ and ‘life after surfing’. A profound shift in the way we see our lives unfolding.

A South African friend of mine whom I introduced to surfing and one of the inspirations for Waves for Change, used to say the closest he came to the high from Tik (a drug he’d battled with as a young adult) was the feeling of dropping into a wave – standing tall, strong and proud with the power of the ocean driving him forward. He spoke of a freedom unlike any other. A freedom from pain and worry, a total escape from the moment.

To us, surfing is more than just a sport. It’s etched into the fabric of our daily lives. We move in circles dictated by weather patterns and the ebb of the tide. We talk about the art of wave riding, the feeling of the glide, time frozen inside a glittering tube. We talk of stoke, of community, of freedom unbound.

For the hundreds of young people passing through Waves for Change, surfing provides an opportunity to forge new identities and an escape from the damaging and negative spirals associated with emotional distress and trauma. It also creates a reliable template to begin the slow process of recovery, rebuilding the relationships and resilience that pave the road back to sound emotional health.

At Waves for Change we are mobilizing a new generation of surfers, equipped to use the language of surfing to connect with emotionally unstable youth and trained to provide the support each child needs, before it’s too late. It is an approach informed by recognized approaches to therapy and psychology and an approach that is forging new applications for this sport of ours.

To learn more about Wave For Change visit waves-for-change.org

 
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