July 30th 2024: SurfAid

I'm very excited to share some news with you this week – I have been asked to become an ambassador for SurfAid. Given my love of Indonesia, its waves and the people who live there I am so happy to be able to give something back in this way.

Started by a surfing Kiwi, Dr Dave Jenkins, way back in 2000, SurfAid is dedicated to improving the health, well-being and resilience of remote communities connected through surfing. Their philosophy revolves around "a hand up, not a handout", and has seen spectacular results over the years.

In some parts of Indonesia, the infant mortality rate is drastically high – one in every 20 babies die before they turn five and one in every 565 women will die during childbirth. Many of the causes of infant death are easily treatable or preventable. SurfAid focuses on enabling access to basic healthcare, clean running water and sanitation, and creating food security for mothers and their children. The work they do reaches almost 50,000 people every year – and most of them are in remote parts of Indonesia, the same parts surfers love to visit and enjoy.

On all my trips to the Mentawai and Telo Island chains I've tried to gain an understanding of the lives of the people who live on these islands year-round. I've tried to walk a mile in their shoes to see what life is really like there – far removed from the luxury of the floating modern oasis we call surf adventure these days. Because of the work of SurfAid, that quality of life has been dramatically improved for villagers over the years without diminishing the spirit or culture of the local people. That is what make this new role so exciting for me. It resonates with me that it is about improving health outcomes without impacting on beliefs and culture.

My role is to share the stories of SurfAid with you all – show you places where you can get involved and share the good energy that comes with giving something back to the beautiful people of Indonesia and the Solomon Islands.

Watch this space ...

See you at the beach ... Derek

PS Have you ever noticed a little ginger-bearded man with long blonde hair who turns up on a crazy little asymmetrical board when the north coast is firing? That's Hank Bilous. He made that board himself. He's a nurse, but is better known for his wild ski antics – he's one of the world's best big-mountain freeriders. He's also just released a film called The War On Style. He directed and produced that himself, too. Hank is currently touring with that film and it will feature in Dunedin on July 31 and we think you'll like it ... a lot. All the details right here.