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Giving Back

The ocean gives so much.
We think it's worth giving back.

We support Waves for Change, a Cape Town-based organisation that uses surf therapy to support the mental health of young people growing up in under-resourced communities across South Africa. Every booking made with us contributes to their work.

Muizenberg Beach, five minutes from our front door, is where Waves for Change has been running surf therapy sessions since 2011. This is our community. Their work matters to us.

Surf therapy at Muizenberg
About Waves for Change

Using surf therapy to build resilience in young people.

Founded in Cape Town in 2011, Waves for Change (W4C) is an internationally recognised surf therapy organisation working in South Africa, Liberia and Sierra Leone. They use structured surf sessions and trained surf mentors to help young people develop emotional regulation, resilience and the mental tools to navigate difficult lives.

Their evidence-based programmes have reached over 5,000 young people. The ocean, for many of the children they work with, is a place they've never felt safe. W4C changes that.

"Surfing isn't the point. The point is what happens in a young person's mind when they realise they can handle something that scared them."
Waves for Change

The Take 5 Programme

Take 5 is Waves for Change's community mental health initiative, training local community members as surf mentors who deliver ongoing, weekly surf therapy sessions to the same group of young people over time. Consistency is the key: the same mentor, the same beach, the same structure, week after week.

The results are measurable. Participants show significant reductions in anxiety, depression and aggression. They show up more at school. They sleep better. They describe the sea as a place they belong.

Visit Waves for Change Book a stay

To learn more about their work, including how to donate directly, visit the Waves for Change website.

waves-for-change.org

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Stay with us.
Give something back.

Every booking made through Long Cottage Stay supports Waves for Change and the young people they work with on this coast.

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