Posted on Oct 7, 2023
For these Peruvian kids, surfing isn't just water play
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https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/10/07/ [login to see] /for-these-peruvian-kids-surfing-isnt-just-water-play
As soon as Boran Bumovich Hignio's bare feet touch the powdery sand of Playa Sombrillas, he breaks into a sprint, spins his arms like a helicopter and lets out a blissful, high-pitched howl: "Vamos aaa surfeeeaaaar! (Let's gooo surrrffffinggg!)"
The 7-year-old, wrapped in a black wetsuit, is followed by a dozen other kids who hop and skip their way into the bracing blue waves of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru's capital, Lima.
"Hey, hey guys, calm down," says Diego Villarán, who's been tasked with looking after the rowdy horde of debutant surfers. "Come over here. You all know that first we need to do our warmups before anything else."
As soon as Boran Bumovich Hignio's bare feet touch the powdery sand of Playa Sombrillas, he breaks into a sprint, spins his arms like a helicopter and lets out a blissful, high-pitched howl: "Vamos aaa surfeeeaaaar! (Let's gooo surrrffffinggg!)"
The 7-year-old, wrapped in a black wetsuit, is followed by a dozen other kids who hop and skip their way into the bracing blue waves of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru's capital, Lima.
"Hey, hey guys, calm down," says Diego Villarán, who's been tasked with looking after the rowdy horde of debutant surfers. "Come over here. You all know that first we need to do our warmups before anything else."
For these Peruvian kids, surfing isn't just water play
Posted from npr.org
Peru
Surfing
Lima
Children
Therapy
Posted 7 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The benefits of catching a wave
This Peruvian surf school is part of a wave of community-based projects around the world that uses a perhaps surprising method to help kids: surf therapy.
The idea is not only about catching waves to tap into the proven mental health benefits of physical exercise. The wider goal is to create a space for young children to express themselves carefree, to help teach them how to process their emotions and to create positive social connections. It's not just a surfer's pipe dream either – studies have shown that surf therapy can foster self-esteem, fight off depression and even help to heal post-traumatic stress disorder.
Lima's surf therapy initiative is run by Alto Peru, a local nonprofit named after the notoriously dangerous, marginalized neighborhood in the south of the city where Villarán – its 41-year-old founder – and all of the trainee surfers come from.
Surf students in the Alto Peru van on the way to the beach.
"In this place, we're alone," says Villarán, who founded the project and has trained about 400 local kids over a decade, using funds obtained from local donations and paid surf classes for the public. "We're without support. There's no playgrounds. No good health care. No good education. Violence and drugs are everywhere."
As well as the surfing, Alto Peru is leaning on its hard-earned community trust built up over the years to develop the neighborhood, which is a short but steep walk up from the beach. The nonprofit has painted colorful murals on several walls with the help of kids and a playground has been created at the site of a former trash dump."...
..."The benefits of catching a wave
This Peruvian surf school is part of a wave of community-based projects around the world that uses a perhaps surprising method to help kids: surf therapy.
The idea is not only about catching waves to tap into the proven mental health benefits of physical exercise. The wider goal is to create a space for young children to express themselves carefree, to help teach them how to process their emotions and to create positive social connections. It's not just a surfer's pipe dream either – studies have shown that surf therapy can foster self-esteem, fight off depression and even help to heal post-traumatic stress disorder.
Lima's surf therapy initiative is run by Alto Peru, a local nonprofit named after the notoriously dangerous, marginalized neighborhood in the south of the city where Villarán – its 41-year-old founder – and all of the trainee surfers come from.
Surf students in the Alto Peru van on the way to the beach.
"In this place, we're alone," says Villarán, who founded the project and has trained about 400 local kids over a decade, using funds obtained from local donations and paid surf classes for the public. "We're without support. There's no playgrounds. No good health care. No good education. Violence and drugs are everywhere."
As well as the surfing, Alto Peru is leaning on its hard-earned community trust built up over the years to develop the neighborhood, which is a short but steep walk up from the beach. The nonprofit has painted colorful murals on several walls with the help of kids and a playground has been created at the site of a former trash dump."...
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