COMMUNITY SERVICE: The Surf for Life organization travels to coastal communities to make a positive impact on the lives of locals.
By Ashley Gore, Staff Writer
When today’s Americans think about the perfect vacation, they envision luxurious hotels and overflowing buffets. Walking from the pool to the spa proves the most challenging of the day’s work. They pay to be served, not to serve. However, Surf for Life changes the way people see vacationing through community service trips dubbed “volun-tourism.”
For $1,850 plus airfare, participants get the opportunity to fly to locations such as Guatemala and Nicaragua to help build and remodel schools and other structures. Some trips focus on constructing buildings from scratch while others concentrate on revamping preexisting structures. Volunteers immerse themselves in a new culture while giving people the help they need to escape poverty and enter the workforce. Surf for Life “takes individual vacation to a new level by benefitting local communities.”
Don’t be fooled by the name; Surf for Life opens its expeditions to anyone who is interested, not just surfers. While its name originated from the kindhearted wave-riders who created it, the program has expanded to include as many volunteers as possible.
Some of the organization’s most prominent trips include building high schools from the ground up. In many impoverished coastal communities, children do not have the opportunity to attend high school. After outgrowing the already tiny desks of their elementary schools, they leave the education system permanently in search of work to support their family.
While many American students see their schools as prisons, other teenagers a few thousand miles away see them as “safe and positive [places] where they can receive emotional support and practice sports, yoga and other positive extracurricular activities with their peers.” The schools function as safe havens that keep teenagers off of drug-laced, violence-ridden streets.
In early 2013, Surf for Life partnered with Waves of Hope to build a high school in Manzanillo, Nicaragua. The school opened early this year. The altruism does not stop there: another volunteer group will travel back to Northern Nicaragua later this year to build an elementary school in the same area.
These trips benefit everyone involved. People receive brighter futures, and volunteers experience the warm, positive feeling that accompanies helping fellow humans in need.
By trading hotels for hospitality and buffets for benevolence, Surf for Life offers an unconventional yet rewarding way to spend summer vacation.