Kids enjoy a new Wave of learning
Head to Newquay beach and you’ll see groups of youngsters happily riding the waves. It’s a typical scene played out in this surf-mad resort.
But the Wave Project is not simply teaching kids to surf – they are developing skills to overcome issues including mental health problems and isolation.
Participants are treated as surfers and not labelled as people who need help. In Devon and Cornwall alone, it has transformed the lives of at least 1,000 youngsters from eight to 18 with varying degrees of physical and mental disabilities, as well as those who have suffered due to bullying or bereavement.
Using surfing, staff and volunteers provide a fun experience and a supportive community, that avoids labelling the youngsters.
“It started as an experiment,” said CEO Joe Taylor who founded The Wave Project in 2010. “I had been working with a boy who had not spoken for two years. But he started surfing and within weeks he was chatting to his parents and his mentor. We got funding to conduct the pilot and were able to get experts in to prove that it did work. It snowballed from there.”
COMFORTABLE
Lessons are held in small groups and each youngster has their own mentor and surf coach. They can behave in any way they feel comfortable as long it is not hurting others. Isaac, 14, pictured below, is one local boy to benefit. He missed nearly a whole school year because of bullying.
Isaac now volunteers for the project to support other young people. He said: “If I hadn’t have joined The Wave Project, there is no way I would be the more confident, less stressed and ultimately more happy person I am today.” The scheme has been so successful, it has been copied around the world from Holland to Australia.