Surfing is the life and soul of Surfpop. As a sport, surfing connects the children with the beauty and power of the ocean. It opens their eyes to a new way of life by being active, healthy and closely connected to nature. In the townships children are exposed to violence and other forms of trauma. The ocean and surfing can have powerful healing effects. With a playing field that is constantly changing and defined by the force of the ocean, surfing is a sport that teaches participants self-belief, determination and perseverance and creates a deep sense of belonging: the Surfpop participants do not just define themselves as children from a township; they define themselves as surfers, being part of a surf community with people from all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Each week the children join two team-focused surf sessions in Muizenberg. The sessions start with a fitness and yoga routine on the beach, followed by surf guidance in the ocean. At the end of each session, the coaches facilitate a reflection: a safe space where the children can share how the session made them feel and what they have learned and where our coaches instil key values. The surf sessions are complemented by swimming lessons. To nurture the love for the ocean, our beneficiaries also learn how to care for their environment through beach clean-ups and other educational activities that guide them in becoming true ocean guardians.

Education forms an important element of the Surfpop program formula. Each week after school, the children attend two education sessions in the Surfpop classroom. During these sessions the children are supported by qualified teachers with their homework and participate in a mix of high quality online, one-on-one and interactive learning programs focused on Maths, English and computer literacy. We implement recognised learning programs which have been proven to work in the South African context, for example Jolly Phonics and Oxford Reading Safari in our English program, and NumberSense and Olico in our Maths program, which are tailored to the individual learning level of each child, are aligned with the South African CAPS curriculum, and make learning fun!

Life coaching boosts the children’s resilience and emotional awareness, develops important life skills and guides them towards sustainable employment. The children join one life coaching activity each week. We guide the primary school children to become more resilient and emotionally aware, teach them important coping skills and relevant life skills through a variety of workshops and help them to start dreaming about their future. With the high school learners we take this one step further. In partnership with local businesses and organisations we facilitate vocational workshops to open their eyes to a world of possibilities and dreams and widen their network. We also guide them in setting and achieving goals towards their dream future throughout high school and assist them with accessing tertiary education or sustainable employment after school.

Each day Surfpop provides the children with a nutritious meal to give them an extra boost in the water and extra mental clarity when solving problems in the classroom. We cook our nutritious meals with dried foods provided by the Lunchbox Fund and fresh vegetables that are harvested from our own Surfpop vegetable garden. The children learn about the importance of nutritious food and in the Surfpop vegetable garden learn how to grow their own vegetables and fruits.