Go to Jeffreys Bay for the WSL Corona Open J-Bay. Meet your greatest professional surfing heroes on tour. Share the lineup with the best female surfers in the world. Go shredding with Kelly Slater at Magna Tubes.

Sounds like the surf bucket list of pipedreams. But for the awesome kids at Surfers Not Street Children (SNSC), this was no farcical fantasy. This year the SNSC crew headed to South Africa’s world-famous surfing capital to make memories of a lifetime. The kids had access to watch the world’s best surfers and the opportunity to meet some of their greatest inspirations, helping to boost their confidence in the water and gain invaluable surf insights.

With many trip highlights, here is a recap of the standout moments!

Celebrating 25 years of supporting children off the streets and into surfing

SNSC’s annual trip to JBay was made even more special as it perfectly coincided with celebrating 25 years of empowering street children at risk in South Africa and Mozambique through surfing.

Over its 25 years, it’s played a major impact in the response to the street children phenomenon in Durban and changed how society perceived and treated street children in South Africa.

What began in 1998 as the Durban Street Team, SNSC has had an incredible journey to the life-changing charity it is today.

By fusing together surfing, mentorship, and care, the SNSC model has transformed the lives of children, protecting them from the unforgiving and brutal reality of street life and supporting them to create and maintain independent and self-sustaining lifestyles.

The charity expanded its area in 2018, with the introduction of the Tofo Surf Club, in Mozambique, run by Mozamique’s first professional surfer, dryrobe® Ambassador, and Tofo’s local legend, Mini Cho.

The organisation has dedicated local teams that include social workers, carers, lifeguards, surf coaches, and administrators who identify at-risk children and empower them to successfully reintegrate into society by providing them with a safe space to develop this.

Mozambican trailblazer Julia Fernando at Rising Tides

It was a monumental trip for young female surfers. The first-ever Mozambican female surfer Julia Fernando hit the waves at The WSL Rising Tides event for 2023.

The Rising Tides events were created by the WSL to provide opportunities for up-and-coming young local surfers to meet and surf with their surfing inspirations at every Championship Tour competition.

The events are a platform for young surfers to spend valuable time with their surfing idols and encourage them to aspire to a professional level while experiencing some of the world’s most well-known and competitive surfing hotspots.

Julia works at the SNSC Mozambique project, Tofo Surf Club, and is Mozambique’s pioneer of women’s surfing inspiring other young female surfers to chase their dreams.

‘The Greatest (Interview) Of All Time!’

Last but not least, SNSC founder, activist, and surfer, Tom Hewitt MBE caught up with surfing’s greatest legend, men’s 11 time world champion Kelly Slater after an awesome shred sesh at Magna Tubes - check out the epic interview on the SNSC Insta page here!

We were stoked to see the kids staying warm in their dryrobe® Advance change robes during their trip. dryrobe® is proud to support this incredible charity through the dryrobe® Warmth Project.

Find out more about Surfers Not Street Children and the phenomenal work they do at www.surfnotstreets.org

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Instagram: @surfersnotstreetchildren

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Published on October 04, 2023