Let's go surfing now...

This morning, Kieran and I found ourselves walking to the beach with a bunch of great little boys dressed in wetsuits, with surfboards under their arms. Last night all these kids were sleeping on the streets and no doubt many of them were high on glue but for the next few hours they would be clean and they would feel proud as they walked around in their wetsuits and got out in the sea and surfed just like any other kids.

The idea of the surf programme is to take those most addicted to glue and to give them a new addiction. They go to safe space in the morning, hand in their glue and any weapons (nothing like this is allowed in safe space). They are given a nutritious breakfast and then head to the beach, After surfing all morning they head back for lunch and then it’s football afternoon. As far as Umthombo is concerned their role is to keep the kids off the streets and away from street life for as many hours as possible. At the same time they will work with their families to reintegrate them if this is appropriate.

As we walked through the streets - 5 kids and me (Kieran and 4 kids from the surf programme) - I tried to work out my relationship with them. Sandile and Tennyson (the instructors) had had to go somewhere so left me with the kids – was it my job to protect them or were they protecting me? I certainly felt safer wandering around with them than on my own, but I also felt the need to call out to them to be careful as they ran across the road. Kieran was worried as a couple were running ahead but I pointed out that at night they are on the streets and are much more streetwise than any kids we know. But then there was Natile, who needed my help to carry his board and who still sucks his thumb, in my opionion anyone who us young enough to still suck there thumb should never have to sleep on the streets. Mind you, lets face it, no child should ever have to sleep on the streets. When we got to the beach Natile asked me to help him pull up his wetsuit and do up the zip (they only wear them on the legs as they walk to the beach and then pull them up). As we tried to squeeze him into the too small suit, I realised that there was a huge whole in the bottom and he had no pants on and yet he was so proud to be in this suit that made him just the same as all the other kids (and means that the police leave them alone).

Kieran went boogie boarding with the kids whilst I watched these gorgeous, broken boys laughing and shouting, catching waves and wiping out and marvelled at all the positive work that Umthombo are doing.