Surf Cat

Waves for Change is an uplifting social enterprise in South Africa that forms part of the new documentary series I Am the Engine, which shines a light on 10 inventors and visionaries around the world.

British surfer Tim Conibear laid the groundwork for this African charity in 2009 by starting a small surfing club in Cape Town’s Masiphumelele township.

Ten years later, the fruits of Conibear’s labour have blossomed into an important social enterprise based around three therapy centres on Monwabisi and Muizenberg beaches that give hope to vulnerable children looking to escape a cycle of abuse and poverty.

The South African west coast is the perfect location for the NGO recruits to bury their lifelong fear of the sea and take their nervous first steps into the water.

The weekly surf therapy lessons give local children the skills to cope with stress, regulate behaviour, build healing relationships and make positive life choices – something that impressive mentors Chemica Blau and Luxolo Ponco have both benefitted hugely from.

They are part of 20 full-time staff at the charity, also known as W4C, who work in a surf or life coaching capacity to improve mental health and provide safe spaces for the at-risk youth living in unstable surrounding communities.

Using the untapped healing power of surfing to help thousands of young adults escape the endless cycle of gang warfare has proved so successful that plans are currently underway to extend the program to Liberian capital Monrovia and Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

This opening documentary of the I Am the Engine series is just one of 10 stories being released in the coming weeks about people who are transforming personal adversity into their passion and ingenuity to solve the most pressing challenges in their countries.