{"id":8693,"date":"2025-03-27T09:56:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T08:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.odity.com\/?p=8693"},"modified":"2025-03-27T10:51:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T09:51:10","slug":"waves-for-change-when-surfing-changes-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.odity.com\/en\/waves-for-change-when-surfing-changes-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"Waves for Change: when surfing changes lives!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What if a surfboard could change a life? <strong>Waves for Change is proving it can<\/strong> &#8211; using surfing as a tool for personal development and psychological support for young people from under-resourced communities in Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was thanks to a team of <strong>Odity Cape Town <\/strong>employees that we discovered this inspiring initiative, voted the winning project in <strong>Odity&#8217;s Call for CSR Projects<\/strong>. Their conviction and commitment enabled us to measure the association&#8217;s exceptional impact, and today we&#8217;re proud to be able to support them in their mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-an-inspiring-mission-a-concrete-impact\">An inspiring mission, a concrete impact.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Founded in 2009 in South Africa, <strong>Waves for Change<\/strong> is much more than just a Surf Therapy programme. The organisation works with universities, children and young people to develop a community based, child-friendly mental health service.<br><strong>Through sessions led by coaches trained in mental health and personal development, young people discover a safe space to<\/strong> <strong>gain confidence, manage their emotions and build a better future<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The results speak for themselves:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>over<strong> 2,500 young peopl<\/strong>e supported each year<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>96%<\/strong> of participants report<strong> feeling happier<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>94%<\/strong> of participants are <strong>better able to calm down when they feel sad, angry or scared feeling safe<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>43 coaches trained <\/strong>in mental health and mentoring to provide long-term support for beneficiaries<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>5 active training centers in South Africa<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In so doing, the organisation contributes directly to the achievement of the <strong>United Nations&#8217; Sustainable Development Goal 3<\/strong>, which aims to <strong>ensure a lifetime of good health and promote well-being for all, at all ages<\/strong>. Their action is the perfect embodiment of this commitment, offering young people in difficulty the tools they need to improve their mental health and their future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-in-2025-odity-is-committed-to-supporting-waves-for-change-and-developing-its-work-with-young-people-in-cape-town\">In 2025, Odity is committed to supporting Waves for Change and developing its work with young people in Cape Town.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The meeting on <strong>March 13th<\/strong> with the Waves For Change team marked a key moment in the <strong>officialization of our partnership<\/strong>, driven above all by a shared sense of commitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1947\" height=\"2234\" src=\"https:\/\/www.odity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG20250313132910.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8684\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.odity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG20250313132910.jpg 1947w, https:\/\/www.odity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG20250313132910-261x300.jpg 261w, https:\/\/www.odity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG20250313132910-892x1024.jpg 892w, https:\/\/www.odity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG20250313132910-768x881.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.odity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG20250313132910-1339x1536.jpg 1339w, https:\/\/www.odity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG20250313132910-1785x2048.jpg 1785w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1947px) 100vw, 1947px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Odity Cape Town CSR Committe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While our support is financial, to enable the organisation to extend its programs to young people, <strong>Odity Cape Town&#8217;s CSR Committee was keen to gain a better understanding of how the organisation operates, the Surf Therapy program with its coach training, and what is at stake for the children and their families<\/strong>.<br>It was an opportunity for the teams to share their experiences.\u00a0 I even learned that a surfing session with employee volunteers would be launched in April!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The sheer inspiration radiating from the Waves For Change coaches is really palpable. They possess a unique ability to empower and uplift, making it clear that they are the driving force behind the program&#8217;s transformative impact on these young lives.&#8221;<br><strong>Rodney Govender,<\/strong> General Manager Odity Cape Town<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because together, we can help these young people build a better future, <strong>one wave at a time! <\/strong>Find out more here: <a href=\"https:\/\/waves-for-change.org\/\">https:\/\/waves-for-change.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What if a surfboard could change a life? Waves for Change is proving it can &#8211; using surfing as a tool for personal development and psychological support for young people from under-resourced communities in Cape Town. It was thanks to a team of Odity Cape Town employees that we discovered this inspiring initiative, voted the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commitment"],"acf":[],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.odity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.odity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.odity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.odity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.odity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8693"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.odity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8726,"href":"https:\/\/www.odity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8693\/revisions\/8726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.odity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.odity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.odity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.odity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}