SurfAid’s work internationally focuses on health, education, and emergency response. Photo: SurfAid
Early this month, SurfAid, an international non-profit recognized for their continued efforts to combat poverty in isolated regions, announced their recent non-governmental organization (NGO) accreditation in Australia. SurfAid’s work has benefited countless coastal communities in Indonesia and beyond including their recent disaster relief efforts in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan. In addition to being a serious milestone, this new accreditation, issued by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), will mean eligibility for government funding—paving the way for the expansion of many of SurfAid’s programs abroad.
According to founder, Dr. Dave Jenkins, the SurfAid story began on a surf trip to the Mentawai Islands. It was there he was confronted with the harsh realities of the local living conditions, especially their inability to treat and prevent illness. Upon his return home, Dr. Dave quit his job, recruited two of his best friends to work with him to save lives, coerced his local surf crew to lend their support, and the rest, they say, is history.
In light of SurfAid’s recent accreditation, I sat down with CEO Andrew Judge to discuss the organization’s trajectory. When asked what this accreditation means to SurfAid, Andrew explained that, “In addition to the funds guaranteed by the DFAT that will be used to support and expand our Community Based Health Programs in Nias and the Mentawai, the accreditation is also significant to potential donors. Sometimes when people want to support certain organizations they can’t be sure where there money goes, and they don’t have the resources to do the research. In our case, the accreditation is like a stamp of approval from the Australian government. It means they’ve undertaken the lengthy task of going through our books with a fine-tooth comb, and want to support us in our efforts, and I think that is something prospective supporters like to see.”
Andrew Judge describes his work as that of a “recovering lawyer”, and described to me that the connections that he has been able to make with the local people are what make it all worthwhile. But Dr. Dave, and the rest of the SurfAid staff aren’t the only surfers building personal connections and empowering impoverished communities around the world.
In fact, the SurfAid story appears to be one that has resonated with many traveling surfers that have tapped into the strong relationships that can be made with local peoples, and whose philanthropic attitudes and do-it-yourself mentalities are the basis for an increasing amount of international surf non-profits.
More than ever surfers are traveling to remote regions of the world, interacting with the local community, recognizing a developmental need, and choosing to do something about it. Organizations like Waves 4 Water, Save the Waves Coalition, Project WOO, Waves for Development, and the Latitude Project represent just a handful of surf non-profits that are popping up around the world, which begs the questions: What is it that causes surfers to engage in non-profit work?
The answer can be found, at least partially, in the reason and manner that many surfers travel. For example, a traveling surfer’s main priority will always be waves. And due to the internet and the accessibility of airline travel, breaks around the world that were once so secret are now being inundated with board riders of all colors, shapes and sizes. In search of the ever-elusive perfect empty wave, the pioneering surfer is often likely to sacrifice modern conveniences for privacy in the water, which leads him or her to uncommon destinations—particularly in lesser-developed countries.
Many surfers wouldn’t bat an eye at traveling to a coastal community plagued by severe poverty, or even political instability, if it meant some seriously great waves. When the inevitable interaction between the traveler and local community occurs, though, and the traveling surfer recognizes the harsh realities of everyday life—as in the cases of the founders of the aforementioned non-profits—he or she decides to take action.
Explaining the motivation that exists to help one’s fellow human, however, and the call to action these surfers feel is a bit less tangible. The surfing community is, in many ways, a microcosm of society at large. We each belong to the same tribe, but outside of the water, when it’s back to real life, surfers can be found at almost every job imaginable, from the CEO of a major company on downward. Therefore, perhaps the growing number of philanthropic surfers is simply proof of society as a whole becoming more humanitarian. Maybe the idea of doing good in life over just doing well is on the rise, and this rising tide will lift all boats.
