Surfers Not Street Children – feedback from 3 weeks volunteering work with the NGO
Summary of my trip to volunteer for Surfers Not Street Children
My trip to Surfers Not Street Children took place this summer between July 5th and July 23rd 2022. I had the chance to visit the program and meet the people that make this association an amazing one. Tom Hewitt is a much-respected person in Durban and in the world of surfing. He manages the organisation in a very good and healthy way. He has a good relationship with the whole crew and every single child that takes part in the project. The surf house is in a very good state and the children can access internet with the computers. They receive meals daily.
I also had the opportunity to go on a sponsored trip by Dry Robe to Jeffreys-bay with 12 children of the program. The logistic and organisation was very good and thank to Tom the kids had the opportunity to meet famous surfers and spend time with them. The kids were able to surf one of the best waves in the world and this experience gave them even more motivation to stay on the right track.
One of the two social worker Eugene gave me the opportunity to see the backgrounds of the organisation by taking me to different townships and schools. I was able to see what was really going on and how Surfers Not Street Children is changing young people’s life.
Mini the Mozambique director was also in Durban and explained me how the program in Mozambique works. I have not yet had the chance to go there but it looks like the staff and the whole association is on point there too.
Something that surprised me is that many children had the opportunity to travel to many countries and continents thanks to SNSC. It is an amazing chance for them to see new things and enlarge their horizon.
When arriving in Durban I did not really know what to expect but from what I can tell and after speaking with different children I can say for sure that Surfers Not Street Children is a life changing organisation. If I had to summarize this association with a few words, I would say that the association is under good hands, that it uses its money wisely, that it continues to help children and people that are not in the program anymore and lastly that it is a much-respected association worldwide.
Max Pelka
Switzerland
August 2022
