Optimism during the COVID-19

 

Surfers rally to help coastal town residents

Surfers and charities have joined forces to ensure that struggling families of a famous Western Cape surfing town won’t go hungry over South Africa’s lockdown period.

Elands Bay is a small town situated on the country’s West Coast, approximately 200kms north of Cape Town. It’s also home to one of the best left-hand point break waves in the country – a huge attraction for surfers, who also play an important role in the town’s economy.

With the Covid-19 lockdown, the usual activities that sustain the community’s residents – a crayfish factory, fishing , potato farming and the steady stream of surfing visitors  – have been severely limited, eliminating the livelihood of many local families.

It was this fact that inspired  The Little Optimist Trust to join forces with members of the Elands Bay  Environmental and Development Action Group (EBEDAG), 9 Miles Project,  and local surfing families to help raise money for the local fishermen and farm workers, many of whom are unable to work and who have single-income homes.

The Little Optimist Trust raised has over R65 000 with many of the donations coming from surfers who have made the town their second home, and from others across the country who have surfed there in the past. Kara Combrink, a local resident, has raised another R30 000 to also contribute to the project. The money will be spent on two rounds of food hampers that will feed 100 families. And there’ll even be some Easter cheer, with the delivery of Easter eggs for the town’s children. We have empowered some locals to manufacture face masks for us, along with local talented surfer moms,  and we will be distributing many 100s of  masks over the coming week.