Nurturing leaders among the waves and foam at Chintsa
Project teaches around 15 young, budding surfers three times each week
Finding a future in the waves, first generation surfers from the Unstressed Surf School project have taken over leadership positions to pass on their love of the ocean.
Lulama Komisa, 26, from Chintsa East started surfing in 2012 at age 16; now 10 years later he is one of the surf instructors of the project.
Komisa said he enjoyed teaching the next generation what he had learnt.
“These kids grow up here in Chintsa village; it’s good to keep their minds busy.
“I’m very close to them, sometimes they come to my home and watch surf movies together on my laptop, they love the stunts.”
Kamisa is involved in attaining his surf instructor qualification and went to Jeffreys Bay for the course and said he was overjoyed to reconnect with old surfing friends.
“The ocean is a friendly place, but it can change in seconds so you have to respect it, the ocean is your friend but also not your friend,” he said.
“Sometimes these kids are around four or five years old, I take a small group so I can keep my focus, but they learn quickly and can be the next pros.
“First I explain the equipment, like the wetsuit, how to carry and respect the surfboard, we then walk down to the beach and I show them on the sand how to lie on the board and paddle. After that we go to the flat water in the lagoon and finally into the ocean.”
The project closed during the pandemic but has slowly been able to open again and now takes a group of around 15 young surfers three times a week.
Mike Denison, 53, from Chintsa East started the project as part of the Friend of Chintsa NPO with Gill Harris and Nokuphumla Pakamile in 2010.
Denison said: “Gill and I gained so much in life by growing up around the ocean.
“There is definitely a barrier in SA historically when it comes to open access and we see that disconnect living in Chintsa.”
Denison said the project aimed to cultivate a love for the natural environment for over 80 young children, teaching them how to swim and surf.
“We did lots of work around racial and gender stereotyping while teaching.
“We were on the beach almost every day, our first surf school kids were all in underpants but by the three-month mark all had received donated wetsuits and equipment.”
Denison said Komisa was part of a small group the school raised funds for to qualify as a lifeguard.
“Lulama and two other surfers qualified and worked a few seasons as lifeguards in the Chintsa area but after failure from the municipality to pay them on more than one occasion they stopped.
“When they are around the beach they are still competent eyes and have rescued numerous kids and people.”
He was proud to see how the first-generation students had now come back to teach.
“It’s amazing! To really see something go full circle from a little kid who could barely swim.”
Denison chuckled as he recalled how Komisa arrived, causing mischief among the group of eager youngsters but was now a dedicated leader.
“He was a troublemaker as a kid and a sh*tstirrer, but in all honesty when he came off the beach from his first session he changed into a completely different person.
“He has grown into this amazing young adult spreading a love for the ocean.”
The school takes surf sessions three times a week and operates behind the Chintsa Deli, which welcomes the surfers back after hours in the waves with sweet tea and sandwiches.
“It creates a strong youth community, these kids hang around the deli during the week skateboarding, they have such great manners, it’s mooi.
“A number of businesses in the area have said this when they hire kids out of the programme with great soft skills.
“These young personalities are super fit, motivated and focused by channelling their energy in a positive way.”
Success stories from the school also include young professionals who have become swimming instructors and advanced openwater divers.
“When Lulama and Zandile went to the bush for initiation, a guy went to the boma to visit them and in their blankets and white clay, Lulama had painted the word surf in white clay across his back, there he was living in the bush going through this rite of passage, it was extraordinary.”