Waves for Change is helping vulnerable youth realize their full potential through the healing power of surfing in South Africa.
During their royal tour of South Africa, Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, visited the NGO and witnessed its work.
They traveled to Cape Town on the second day of their 10-day tour and headed down to Monwabisi Beach & Resort in Khayelitsha to find out more about Waves for Change.
The organization has helped local youths find joy and strength again after coming from backgrounds of abuse or violence.
"When I was 14, the founder of Waves for Change came to my school. They were looking for children who were suffering from trauma and wanted to find a way to heal them," explained mentor Luxolo Ponco.
"They said to me that the project was not about them; it was about making me a mentor and a role model. For me to then take my own breakthrough back to my community."
Mentoring Dreams
Waves for Change is the first of ten inventor and visionary stories that the new Red Bull documentary series "I Am the Engine" is highlighting globally in the coming months.
Hosted by Camila Carvalho, founder of "Tem Açúcar," each film shows that no problem is too big that it cannot be solved through human ingenuity with visionaries taking risks and overcoming failure to find solutions that benefit their communities.
"We take these kids, and we teach them how to be better people from inside, and we fuse that with the rush of surfing," explains Chemica Blau, who has also benefitted from the program in the past.
"We don't want our kids to grow up in the same fear that we are growing up in."