As well as teaching surfing techniques, the volunteers and surfer coaches at Surfpop encourage children to be good stewards of the environment and emphasise the importance of keeping beaches clean.
South Africa (08 November 2022) – In the latest episode of African Voices Changemakers, CNN’s Arit Okpo meets Daniel Botha, a South African surfer who is using his skills to help underprivileged youth carve a path to success.
Daniel describes his passion for surfing, “Sometimes I feel like I’m cheating life a little bit. I’m living my life, my passion, and I’m really driven by the ocean.” Surfing allows him to be close with nature. “You don’t have to think about anything but the next wave. I love being out there when it’s quiet, seeing the sunrise,” he says.
Growing up in Cape Town set the groundwork for a life-long passion. He tells CNN how he often went with his family exploring in nature, which is where his love for adventure began.
Surfing, however, was something that he took up on his own accord, “From the first time I saw guys catching waves on that point and riding into the middle of the bay, I just knew that I wanted to do that.”
From a young age, Daniel was aware of wealth disparities in South Africa. He tells CNN, “I really struggled with the idea of this big gap between the rich and the poor. It’s so in your face in South Africa. In a big way you become desensitised. I was always looking for a way to do my part to try and balance that out. I was really inspired by other surf programs that I saw happening in Mozambique.”
In 2015, Daniel fulfilled his dream of using his passion for a good cause. He founded Surfpop, a non-profit organisation which aims to introduce children from South African townships to some of the childhood experiences Daniel had – a connection to nature and healthy living.
As well as teaching surfing techniques, the volunteers and coaches at Surfpop encourage children to be good stewards of the environment and emphasise the importance of keeping beaches clean.
Surf coach Amy Lee explains the importance of this method of teaching, “It’s important for them to know that this is your this is your space. That means you need to take care of your space. You need to keep it clean so that you can keep enjoying, utilising the ocean.”
Amy tells the children, “We can think of a beach cleanup as a way of saying thank you to the ocean, saying thank you for the waves because you give us such nice waves that we can surf.”
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Daniel believes that surfing has the ability to change people. “You are so close to nature. It allows you to grow and overcome challenges. It’s just a constant journey.”
Daniel says that Surfpop is much more than a surfing school, it’s a program that consists of surfing, education and nutrition, “We are trying to improve their grades and hopefully get them to the point where they can either apply for a bursary to go to a better school or to get the marks that they need to apply for college or university.”
Since 2015, this non-profit has expanded to include volunteers who come from outside South Africa.
According to Daniel, “[The expansion of Surfpop] is a great opportunity for people to come and experience South Africa and give something back. It provides the helping hands, but it also provides finances. It’s a consistent flow of young people coming from different backgrounds, different cultures, new energy, fresh new energy.”
Daniel describes the importance of nutrition in education, “Nutrition plays a really important role for a healthy body and a healthy mind.”
At Surfpop, the children are provided with meals harvested from Surfpop’s campus garden to teach them the importance of healthy eating and how to grow their own food.
From teaching lessons in a classroom, to teaching technique on the waves, Surfpop is looking out for the future generation.
Daniel describes the vision, “The vision for Surfpop is to have all kids live a life closer to nature, to appreciate and love the environment and to find sustainable employment. Hopefully, they find themselves a path out of poverty and create a better life for themselves and for their families.”
‘African Voices Changemakers’ airs on Saturday 5th November at 1130 SASTThe show also airs at the following times:
Sunday 6th November at 0330 SAST and 1930 SAST
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