According to UN sources there are up to a hundred and fifty million street children in the world today. Chased from their homes by violence, drug and alcohol abuse, the death of a parent, family breakdown, war, natural disaster or simply socio economic collapse, many destitute children are forced to eke out a living on the streets, scavenging, begging, hawking especially in the developing world.
South Africa, just like many African countries, has many street kids. The seventeen year old Ntando Msibi from Durban KwaZulu Natal, South Africa is one of the former street children. He lost his mother when he was young. He had no means of fending for himself; he therefore opted for the streets. “She died in 2005. Then I stayed with my grandma until I ran away. When I was here in the streets, everyone vanished. My grandma died, my other uncle died and it was just me,” recalled Ntando Msibi.
Surfers Not Street Children organization was founded by Tom Hewitt in Durban, South Africa. The name itself depicts the transformation encountered by the street kids. Methods or channels of transforming the street children vary from using dance, music and sports to circus and art. Hewitt opted for sport, surfing. It was a successful engagement programme and many children left the streets through the surfing programme.
“When we introduced surfing fourteen years ago, suddenly kids were coming through the program. They really wanted to surf and they were consumed by this activity. The kids would surf, come in and rest on the beach and that would be a moment where the social workers could work with the kids,” told Tom.
The integration process was full of hurdles as the young kids coming from the streets always face the challenge of overcoming addiction. They sniff glue and other harmful substances to remain high. “The worst thing that ever happened to me while I was in the street, was sniffing glue,” recalled Ntando. But through surfing, many have been able to overcome addiction. “Surfing has helped us a lot. It’s like a drug you get addicted to, a ‘good’ drug. It helps you with the physique, you learn patience. Guys can be on the water from morning to afternoon to evening,” told Vukani Mhluzi – Surfers Not Street Children.
Ntando is one of the best young surfers. Both Tom and his peers vouch that he is the next professional surfer. He has great determination and he is very good in movement. “Recently he (Ntando) has been doing so well in the contests. He has got the skill and potential, and the advantage he has is that he has got an incredible story that other surfers don’t have, and he has triumphed over adversity,” told Tom.
In 2013, Ntando was ranked fourth in the country in his age group in surfing having placed fourth in the South African Championships at the legendary Jeffrey’s Bay. In 2014, the young surfer scooped the first position in the Kushayi’igagasi contest at Dairy Beach in Durban and was crowned the Junior Surfer of the Year winning some cash and an all expenses mentored surf trip to Mozambique, courtesy of the South Africa Surfing Legends. “Surfing is my passion. My hope for the future is tell other people that there’s always a way to get out of the worst situations. Tell them about us, show them that there’s hope,” told Ntando.
Surfers’ not street children have indeed come a long way. They look towards the future with hope. They are grateful for the opportunity they have been given, and hope to inspire many streets children.
According to UN sources there are up to a hundred and fifty million street children in the world today. Chased from their homes by violence, drug and alcohol abuse, the death of a parent, family breakdown, war, natural disaster or simply socio economic collapse, many destitute children are forced to eke out a living on the streets, scavenging, begging, hawking especially in the developing world.
South Africa, just like many African countries, has many street kids. The seventeen year old Ntando Msibi from Durban KwaZulu Natal, South Africa is one of the former street children. He lost his mother when he was young. He had no means of fending for himself; he therefore opted for the streets. “She died in 2005. Then I stayed with my grandma until I ran away. When I was here in the streets, everyone vanished. My grandma died, my other uncle died and it was just me,” recalled Ntando Msibi.
Surfers Not Street Children organization was founded by Tom Hewitt in Durban, South Africa. The name itself depicts the transformation encountered by the street kids. Methods or channels of transforming the street children vary from using dance, music and sports to circus and art. Hewitt opted for sport, surfing. It was a successful engagement programme and many children left the streets through the surfing programme.
“When we introduced surfing fourteen years ago, suddenly kids were coming through the program. They really wanted to surf and they were consumed by this activity. The kids would surf, come in and rest on the beach and that would be a moment where the social workers could work with the kids,” told Tom.
The integration process was full of hurdles as the young kids coming from the streets always face the challenge of overcoming addiction. They sniff glue and other harmful substances to remain high. “The worst thing that ever happened to me while I was in the street, was sniffing glue,” recalled Ntando. But through surfing, many have been able to overcome addiction. “Surfing has helped us a lot. It’s like a drug you get addicted to, a ‘good’ drug. It helps you with the physique, you learn patience. Guys can be on the water from morning to afternoon to evening,” told Vukani Mhluzi – Surfers Not Street Children.
Ntando is one of the best young surfers. Both Tom and his peers vouch that he is the next professional surfer. He has great determination and he is very good in movement. “Recently he (Ntando) has been doing so well in the contests. He has got the skill and potential, and the advantage he has is that he has got an incredible story that other surfers don’t have, and he has triumphed over adversity,” told Tom.
In 2013, Ntando was ranked fourth in the country in his age group in surfing having placed fourth in the South African Championships at the legendary Jeffrey’s Bay. In 2014, the young surfer scooped the first position in the Kushayi’igagasi contest at Dairy Beach in Durban and was crowned the Junior Surfer of the Year winning some cash and an all expenses mentored surf trip to Mozambique, courtesy of the South Africa Surfing Legends. “Surfing is my passion. My hope for the future is tell other people that there’s always a way to get out of the worst situations. Tell them about us, show them that there’s hope,” told Ntando.
Surfers’ not street children have indeed come a long way. They look towards the future with hope. They are grateful for the opportunity they have been given, and hope to inspire many streets children.
Directors: Michael Cross
Writers:
Producers: Yingna Wu
Key cast:
Categories:
Student project: No
Completion date: 2015-03-29
Shooting format: Digital
Aspect ratio:
Film color: Color
First-time filmmaker: No
Subtitles:
Country:
Language: