Surfers Not Street Children began in Durban in 1998, originally as the Durban Street Team. A team of child and youth care workers and social workers worked directly on the streets, building relationships of trust with children living there and supporting them to leave street life and return to community life.

Almost three decades later, much has changed, but our core goal remains the same: providing children with a positive alternative to street life.

Over the years, our work has contributed to a significant reduction in the number of children living on Durban’s streets. While we continue to support and rescue children who are street-connected, our work today increasingly focuses on prevention and diversion.

We work with children growing up in Durban’s Point district, providing surfing, mentorship, care, nutrition and a safe community that helps protect them from street life and its associated risks, including gangs, drugs, exploitation, violence, hunger and disease.

This shift from primarily rescuing children already living on the streets to preventing children from reaching the streets in the first place is perhaps one of the greatest successes of our work over the past three decades.

Our Durban programme is run by a dedicated local team of child and youth care workers, social workers, surf coaches, water-safety staff and administrators, operating from two bases: The Surf Club and The Surfhouse.