Six Days Left to Win a Trip to the Mentawais
September's nearly done and so is Make A Wave. SurfAid's month-long fundraiser has surfers logging sessions and hitting up their mates for donations, all in aid of clean water and healthcare in remote Indonesian communities. This year there's extra reason to chip in. Every donor between now and Sunday goes into the draw for a surf trip for two to the Mentawai Islands.
The Numbers So Far
With six days of September left, 1,822 surfers from 22 countries have logged nearly 8,000 sessions and raised over $800,000 for SurfAid's Make A Wave challenge. The money goes straight into clean water, nutrition and healthcare for remote communities in Indonesia.
Since Make A Wave launched in 2021, the challenge has raised over $3.6 million for SurfAid, including a record $1.1 million last year. This September, SurfAid and Perfect Wave Travel want to beat that.
Anyone who donates before midnight on Sunday 27 September goes into the draw to win a surf trip for two to the Mentawai Islands in 2027 with Perfect Wave Travel, worth $8,000.
Where SurfAid Started
The Mentawais are where it all began. In 1999, Dr Dave Jenkins went there chasing waves and found families losing children to malaria and malnutrition, largely preventable causes. Twenty-seven years on, SurfAid has worked throughout Indonesia, helping remote communities secure clean water, grow nutritious food and build more resilient livelihoods.
"Every session logged this month has meant something real for a family in Indonesia. Our surfers have shown up in every kind of condition, and because of them, more children will grow up with the basics they need to thrive." — Anna Bowden, SurfAid CEO
Matt Wiseman, SurfAid's Chief Fundraising and Marketing Officer, said the results this year have been driven from the ground up.
"The results so far this year are incredible. Some of our strongest fundraisers this year aren't pros or big names. They're kids, surf schools and boardriders clubs and a few legends who've now done the challenge for four, five or six years in a row."
"A few more days of people backing their mates' pages, and this could be the biggest Make A Wave yet. If you've been meaning to donate, now's the time, and you might end up in the Mentawais for your trouble."
How to Get Involved
Make A Wave runs until 30 September. Donate at makeawave.co/donate to back the surfers taking part and put yourself in the draw for the trip. Find out more about SurfAid's work at surfaid.org, or check out Perfect Wave Travel for the kind of trip that's up for grabs.
