WAVES FOR CHANGE

Waves for Change (W4C) is an award-winning community-based surf therapy NGO founded in 2011, focusing on providing child-friendly mental health services to children and adolescents in underserved communities.

W4C uses surfing as a vehicle to reach over 1 500 children in 47 underserved coastal communities in the Western and Eastern Cape – Muizenberg (serving Capricorn, Masiphumelele, Ocean View, Lavender Hill, Vrygrond and Retreat) Monwabisi, (Khayelitsha) Hout Bay (Imizamo Yethu and Hangberg), Gqberha (seven communities including Motherwell and Helenvale) and East London (Gompo among fourteen other communities) – and also equip their contracted coaches with the skills, qualifications and experiences they need for further study or more permanent employment.

W4C’s community-led approach improves communities’ ability to identify mental health challenges in children and young people, while increasing communities’ access to community-based, child-friendly mental health services. The Surf Therapy programme improves children’s skills to cope with chronic adversity, trauma and toxic stress, and helps to improve  their overall well-being.

Through and after the 10-month programme, W4C participants are equipped with skills to cope with adversity and with the ability to self-regulate their emotions and better control their responses to perceived threats. In addition, their integrated mental health services break the stigma attached to seeking help for mental health challenges.