Last year alone SurfAid reached more than 52,000 people living next to the world’s most remote waves who struggle to access basic services. Sadly, the World Bank estimated eight million people in Indonesia fell back into poverty in 2020 due to the economic shock of the pandemic. The Make A Wave challenge aims to raise $100,000 to support SurfAid’s programs in places like the Mentawai islands where our support is needed more than ever.
SurfAid CEO Doug Lees said, “The global surf community first discovered the incredible waves of the Indonesian islands more than 60 years ago. COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on our friends in Indo and the first time in many years, some of our favourite breaks have empty lineups. We might not be able to surf remote breaks this year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t support the locals in isolated surf communities.”
“Last year with a team of Indonesian nationals on the ground SurfAid stood by our mission and supported families in the places we love to surf to access healthcare, sanitation and clean water when the pandemic began. Now we need the support of the entire surf community to ensure we can continue to support healthy and resilient remote communities as the threat of COVID-19 remains constant.”