【South Africa】Surf for Smile A project to present surfboards to South Africa
- Time Period
- May,2017~March,2018
- Region
- Republic of South Africa, Durban
- Sport/Programme Category
- Surfboard donations
- Implementer
- Surfing Industrial Association
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. - Recipient Organisation
- Surfers Not Street Children
- Co-Implementer
- Japan Sports Agency
Embassy of Japan in South Africa
Clinton Gass and Gass Rooibos Tea - Number of Individual Beneficiaries
- 130人
The Ichinomiya-machi Surfing Industrial Association was at the center of developing this activity. The plan was to bring a smile to the faces of the homeless children in South Africa by giving them surfboards. Local surf shops and surf brands that agreed with the spirit of the project donated 121 prototypes and used surfboards and gave them free of charge to the South African NGO Surfers Not Street Children.
In May 2017, Tsurigasaki Beach in Ichinomiya-machi (the surfing site for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics) held a ceremony. In September 2017, the surfboards were shipped from Japan. In December of the same year, they arrived at the South African NGO.For this operation, Mitsui O.S.K Lines shipped the contents free of charge. Rooibos Charity operated by Gass Co., Ltd. also shipped the contents for free within South Africa. Other supporters helped the project as well.
Feedback from Local Contacts :
Thank you! Ichinomiya-machi in Japan, made a wonderful donation of surfboards to Durban, South Africa. We are grateful to our wonderful friends in Chiba (the Ichinomiya-machi Surfing Industrial Association), our longtime partners Clinton Gass and Gass Rooibos Tea, Ichinomiya-machi City Hall, Sports for Tomorrow (Tokyo 2020), MOL for its transportation and Giono Falconer.
