- June 2011.

Welcome the to the Surfing Wantoks Newsletter.

This is probably the first communication from us, so let us introduce ourselves….

Surfing Wantoks is all about helping people in Pacific Island communities enjoy the lifestyle of the surfing culture, promote water safety and contribute to the development of local sustainable tourism industries.

We love reusing and recycling old and unwanted surfboards and equipment and getting them into communities to give them a second life and help more people enjoy surfing and the ocean.

We’re a group of like-minded individuals and organisations passionate about sustainable development and the coastal surfing lifestyle. We look to contribute to coastal Pacific Island communities through sharing skills, knowledge and expertise and helping provide access to equipment to enjoy the ocean. All this we hope will contribute to local people developing sustainable eco-tourism industries and help more people from all over the world enjoy surfing in unique parts of the surfing planet.

So if you’ve ever wanted to get rid of those old boards under your house and have no idea what to do with them, don’t take them to the tip or sell them for next to nothing, think about how your old board might just be able to give others the stoke of surfing!

Over the past 12 months Surfing Wantoks has had a huge boost with Jonathan (OHSA) and Mish (Darcy Surfboards) coming on board to help drive us along. More recently Paul and Chris from the Eco Village have joined us and very generously offered us space at the EcoVillage (Currumbin Valley) as both a permanent drop off point as well as a storage area the container is shipped off.

Our 2010 container was a huge success. Gear that made it into the shipment included surfboards, foamies, nipper boards, racing mals, rescue boards, body boards plus a heap of other equipment like fins, flippers, snorkels and masks plus a huge amount of clothing, first aid equipment, CPR manikins and rescue tubes (as well as a lot of other gear). We also donated box loads of school textbooks, stationary, books and other school equipment to a local school in a remote area of PNG. We are stoked to have been able to witness the joy and pleasure that all our donations have brought to the areas where the donations have been given.

We are now pushing hard to get at least one container, hopefully maybe even two, packed and shipped in August/September before our southern hemisphere summer starts.

The last 2 containers have been sent to PNG, but as has always been the idea and goal of Surfing Wantoks, we are keen to see this expand to other nations in the Pacific region. Currently we are in early discussions with some other nations to understand the ability to make this happen and ensure that all these donations head to a place where they will be hugely treasured!

With the upcoming shipment we are not only making a  drive for donations of surfboards, surfing equipment, clothing but any other useful working goods including outdated textbooks from schools, surf rescue or emergency care training equipment, or other similar goods. Financial assistance / funding / sponsorship is also being sort. Surfing Wantoks aims to not only supply donated equipment but enable local training programs to be funded in surf rescue, surf awareness, surf safety, emergency care, CPR and other basic first aid training. One of our goals is to assist in building local skill levels and knowledge in these areas. This can assist in not only increasing the safety of the regions but also assist in job and employment opportunities.

We thankyou for your interest and would be very appreciative if you could please help us spread the word. More information about us and how to donate at www.surfingwantoks.thedeepnorth.com .

Jamo Borthwick.