Mission & vision
The beginning
Surfpop is a registered non-profit organization, founded by Daniel Botha in 2015. Daniel discovered surfing, fell in love, and the rest is history. As he spent most of his free time on his surfboard in the ocean, closely connected to nature, surfing became a life changing experience for him. As a surf enthusiast, he had a strong desire to share his passion for surfing and the ocean with at-risk children and youth from disadvantaged communities who do not have the same opportunities he had during his childhood.
Children growing up in disadvantaged communities around Cape Town have little hope of escaping their socio-economic environment: poverty, crime, drugs, gangsterism and a lack of good quality education and job opportunities are rife and real battles these children face. Daniel realized that surfing could be a powerful tool to positively impact the lives of these children.
In 2015, Daniel reached out to the primary school and high school in Masiphumelele Township. He started by taking children, who were vulnerable to the challenges in their township, surfing once a week. Soon this grew out to the comprehensive after-school program that Surfpop offers its beneficiaries today.