Surfing for a Better Future

I had the most amazing time volunteering with Surfpop! I would do it again anytime! Everyone was so kind and welcoming from the start and it was great to see how passionate everyone on the team was about what they're doing. The accommodation is great, right next to the beach and Muizenberg is a lovely little surf town with the friendliest locals, you'll often find yourself having a quick chat with one of them in and out of the water. The surf lessons were fantastic. Thanks to the amazing and knowledgable surf instructors you're gonna improve a lot while having lots of fun. What I also highly enjoyed was that you can grab a board any time and go surfing on your own. So you can really make the most of your time and go surfing as much as you want and you don't have to worry about surfing on your own cause there are always locals in the water who are happy to help and cheer you on! Also working with the children was so much fun! They are so lovely and kind-hearted and so grateful that the volunteers spend time with them, helping them in the classroom and with surfing. The weeks are filled with endless smiles, laughter and hugs and you build a great connection with the children. Everyone on the team does an amazing job and it's great to see the positive impact Surfpop has on the children's lives and that you can be part of it and contribute to it by volunteering. I would highly recommend the programme to anyone who loves surfing or wants to learn to surf, who enjoyes working with children and wants to do all of this in a stunningly beautiful environment.

My experience in South Africa has been amazing. If I could fly back tomorrow, I would do it right away. Helping children from townships has been something I've wanted to do since I was young, and I finally got the chance to do it now. Combining that with surfing is just so much fun! You also have plenty of free time to enjoy and explore Cape Town, which I think is a great combination. Surfpop is well organized; you can always message someone if you need anything, and they are available 24/7, which I found very reassuring. The food during the week is also good, especially breakfast, which is delicious! The surf instructors are skilled and know how to teach, so you really improve. The accommodation is nice too. It's cleaned every week, and you share a room with many girls but that’s nice and you get better and better together! I had a wonderful time overall. Thank you so much for everything! Kind regards Sterre Lief van de Geer

I had an amazing time at Surfpop! From the very first moment, I felt welcome thanks to the wonderful people I met and the friendly, supportive team. Everything was well organized. Surfing was one of the highlights – thanks to the enthusiastic surf instructors, I learned a lot and improved my skills. Additionally, the organized tours were a fantastic way to explore the area and experience the beauty of the region. Working with the children in the afternoons was a special and valuable experience. The variety between helping in the classroom and activities like surfing and swimming made every day unique. I truly enjoyed spending time with the children and seeing the positive impact Surfpop has on their lives. Most of the volunteers were Dutch, which created a nice community, but it would be great to see more international volunteers joining as well! Surfpop does incredible work, and I’m grateful to have been a part of it. An experience I will never forget!

I absolutely loved the programm. The surf lessons in the morning were great (very good instructors) and the afternoon with the kids were amazing. I liked epecially the variation between being in the classroom and swimming/surfing with the kids. The trips as well as the rest of the program were very well organised and perfect to show more of beautiful Capetown. I am really grateful for the time I got to spend there and would recommend it 100%.

The whole program was fantastic. There was plenty of surfing whether it was our own instruction or with the kids. The kids were so much fun and very inviting. There was plenty of activities to do whether it was surfing, teaching the kids, or doing trips to hike or around Cape Town. Although there was plenty to do there was enough down time to rest without feeling overworked. Aimee and the staff were so much fun and took care of everything. The food was also delicious and plentiful. My heart could be more full with happiness and love for the experience and program. Truly amazing people and program.

Had a great time with Surfpop! It's a great way to learn surfing and see a little more of South Africa and be able to contribute something in the community. Daniel & Celine are awesome and really have a heart for the kids and their growth, which makes it even more special to be part of it. I enjoyed the mix of getting surf lessons yourself, join tours, surf with the kids and help them with their education. Everyday was different and super fun. If you wanna learn how to surf and contribute something while you are exploring South Africa I think this is a great way.

Surfpop does an amazing job. Its unbelievable what Bongi and his staff have created. You can see that the program is a matter of love for everybody involved. I had a great time at Surfpop for about 2 month where we had plenty of time to explore the beautiful area of Capetown and participate in activities, besides of course taking care of the children. The complete stay was very well organised, basically everything was taken care of. Capetown was more expensive as i anticipated and you do need to be a bit careful after dark but I never felt uncomfortable during my stay. Overall it was a great experience and I cant recommend the program enough! Just good vibes. Thank you Surfpop Team :)

In 2016, I took part in the Surfpop program as a volunteer. It was really amazing in every way! By participating in the program, I felt I was really making a difference because i could see that the kids at surfpop were so happy, proud and grateful that they where able to surf and learn new things in a safe environment. It was so nice to see those smiles on their faces every day! Also Daniel and his team made sure we felt right at home and had the best time as volunteers. We learned to surf, got to know the culture and the beautiful nature of South Africa during the most wonderful tours. It was an experience I will never forget.

To be honest, it was one of the best decisions I made to fly all the way to Cape Town and join the Surfpop Family. In those 7 weeks I met the nicest people and made memories I’ll never forget. To have the opportunity to work with the kids, was a blessing. Surfpop has the perfect mixture of spending time with the kids in the water and in the classroom as well as exploring the city and improving your Surf skills. I woke up every morning with a big smile on my face, because the next day full of adventure has started.

I participated in Surfpop in 2016/2017 as a volunteer for 4 month and enjoyed every bid of it. From the initial booking up to my departure everything went smoothly but the Surfpop team also provided me with flexibility and involvement in the scheduling of activities/surfing. The day-to-day was packed with activities, either surf lessons/tours or various excursion around cape town in the morning and surfing or school work with the kids in the afternoon - however, enough freetime to explore local restaurants/foodmarkets/bars or spend time with your fellow volunteers. SurfPop provided me with the framework for a life in Cape Town, providing accommodation, food and connection to local communities and friends, while I had enough freetime to spend on my own interest and explore possibilities of how a life could look like in Cape Town. Surfpop is a very social environment including your fellow volunteers, as well as the accommodation situation with locals involving you in their day-to-day and happy to show you around Muizenberg or take you for a surf on the other side of the cape. Due to my experience in 2016/2017 and staying in contact with the programme I decided to spend some time in cape town again and visit SurfPop. Since i left in 2017 a lot has happened. The programme developed from basically a one man show to considerably sized organization with a big impact to the local communities. I was happy to see a few kids I taught surfing were still in the participating in the programme while the Highschool graduates were provided with the opportunity to pursue their studies afterwards or even started to work for the programme full time.