Surf Therapy, Cape Town

Statistically, each child in the township experiences an average of eight traumatic events per year. This includes witnessing someone being attacked or shot, sexual violence and substance abuse by guardians. Among children and adolescents growing up in South African townships, toxic stress has become a pandemic, making it difficult for children to control and appropriately express their emotions, focus in school, build social relationships, and seize their future opportunities.

When preventive services are not available to promote well-being and/or treat mental health disorders, it often leads to a vicious cycle from which children and adolescents cannot break out. Gang-related crime, substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, and dropping out of school are commonplace in this environment. Access to and quality of mental health services is low. Treatment gaps of over 90% have been documented in South Africa and mental health programs for youth living in poverty remain inaccessible.

As a longstanding and successful lighthouse project of the help alliance, the iThemba Primary School in Capricorn is already providing access to quality education from preschool to grade seven for approximately 1000 township children. Thus, the school is already paving the way for a hopeful future for each child, but even the best school and the best effective education, however, cannot protect these children from the damage of mental illness, experiences at home or on the streets, and cannot guarantee that they will stay on the right path.

The project elevated the quality of education at iThemba Primary School and introduced a meaningful support program for children with emotional and behavioral challenges. Through a sports therapy initiative, the children were given tools to process their experiences and strengthen their sense of self.

Specifically, a surf therapy program led by trained therapists was implemented. Surfing, as a demanding group sport, helped improve the children’s concentration and created a flow-state that allowed a much-needed break from negative thoughts and emotions. The therapy contributed significantly to the children’s long-term emotional stability. Additionally, former participants now volunteer as surf coaches, continuing the impact of the program within their community.