When you catch a wave you get that adrenaline rush
it makes them forget about what's happening where they live.
We have a high rate of rape
high rate of teenage pregnancy
kids getting themselves into drugs and gangsterism.
It's overwhelming.
So we started looking at what it's like being a child in a township.
We realised they experience up to eight traumatic events every single year.
This might be witnessing someone getting shot or stabbed in the community
or violence at home.
And there's no psychologists or social workers
so there really is no-one to talk to.
So we use surfing as a way to build relationships
between caring adults and children.
We teach them some basic coping skills.
What they struggle with is peer pressure
and the things that are happening around them.
They don't have proper role models
so we try and get them in the right direction.
They take us as their sisters and brothers
because if there's anything that they're facing, trust me, they come just to you
and tell you: "Okay, coach this is happening to me now...
so I need this help and this help."
You're very, very connected to nature here.
You are outside but you're in the water and the water is all around you.
So there's definitely something unique about it.
Surfing is also quite difficult
so you're learning a very challenging skill which takes a lot of confidence
so these very small successes that children have when they go into the water
elicit a really big emotional response.
I like surfing a lot
and it helps me not to do things from the outside.
I learn to respect people. I learn how to communicate with other people.
I feel free because nobody is shouting with me.
Being a black person and the beach we don't mix.
We always tell ourselves: "Firstly you're gonna drown or you're gonna be eaten by a shark."
The legacy of apartheid segregated the beaches
and you were designated a beach depending on your cultural background.
And that's a hard challenge to overcome.
So that's something we are now addressing by virtue of bringing children to this beach
which was previously for the white population here.
As they go through our programmes and they form these attachments with the caring adults
they learn how to monitor and regulate their behaviour.
We see a huge downshift in violent behaviour in the children.
Seeing a kid float for the first time that was so scared of the water
it's a done deal for me. I'd go sleep at my house and be like:
"Yeah, you go girl, you've done your job."