The kids have the power! Thank surfing. Photo courtesy of Paulo Canas
The Pressley Ridge Surf .Art project is a social entrepreneurship program that aims to develop the full potential of young people coming from challenging socio-economic backgrounds by bringing them into contact with the ocean through the practice of surf.
Through the process of experiential education using surf, challenging workshops and community payback activities, participants learn to accept responsibility for personal decisions and past behaviors, address individual and family issues, and become more invested in their future.
Nuno Fazenda and me, passionate surfers and co-founders of the project, presented this initiative to children and their families in a Primary School of Alcoitão. These children, mostly of Roman and African-Portuguese decent, live in a poor and vulnerable community in Cascais city.
Nuno and I have said, “we believe that all young people have enormous potential regardless of their family, social and economic backgrounds. Surf is a channel for the young people that come from problematic communities to learn about the ocean, as well as being a passion, lifestyle and sport for them. It is also a therapy that builds and reinforces young people’s autonomy and self-esteem within a psychologically safe environment.”
During the pilot project, the 14 kids in the surf art program have improved the perception of their skills in many aspects of their lives, namely increased attention span, increased self-esteem, greater self-control, better problem-solving skills, more responsible behavior and are better able to deal with uncertainty.
In 2013, the Annual Report of the Commission for Protection of at Risk Children and Youth (CPCJ) refers to almost 70,000 children that were of concern to authorities in Portugal.
Children and youth at risk can be future parents living in poor conditions with negative prospects towards life, in a non-stimulating and an unstructured parental setting.
Learn more about the Surf .Art project here.
