WoW Jokul – A Community Surfing Program for Koorikatta Youth
Surfing is so much more than just a sport and a passion that people can do for a past time, for exercise, for fun and for their competitive or recreational sport. It has the capacity to provide so much more than just catching waves and riding them on a board.
The WoW Jokul Program being run by Walkin On Water Mangalore, Panambur Beach’s professional surf school, for the Koorikatta Youth highlights this.
One of the major aims of the Walkin On Water Mangalore Surf School is to have a very positive social and community impact within the local area. The cornerstone of their community programs to positively affect the youth is the WoW Jokul Program (www.wowjokul.com). Please visit the specific website for more information and to see how you have the chance to be involved and help us continue and expand this program.
A free Local Groms Surfing Program is being offered and run for children from the local fishing village, Koorikatta, that is located at Panambur Beach. Koorikatta joins the bigger village of Baikampady.
Giving them the opportunity to join in the surfing programs and learn to surf should result in many positives from this Program. Not only is it allowing them to try a new sport and do something that they otherwise would not have the opportunity to do and become good at, it is keeping them occupied so they don’t get involved in unproductive and destructive behaviours and activities.
More importantly though, one of the major aims and reasons for running this program is that it can help open up many more opportunities for the surfers and those involved in the program in the future. Not only are the Jokul being taught and developed in their surfing, but they are being trained as watermen’. By opening the children up to many ocean and surf activities and introducing them to much more than just surfing, they can improve their overall competency in the surf.
This can potentially lead to new job prospects and new sporting athletic prospects. Potentially it could open up employment as a surf instructor, as a lifeguard or other ocean-based activity. It might also enable them to compete in Indian Surfing Contests and possibly if they have the ability and work to realise their full potential maybe even international surfing events. They are being trained as all round watermen proficient in swimming and numerous surf and ocean sports, lifeguarding and lifesaving skills and also improving their self-confidence and self-belief. The program will also help improve their English and assist them to better their skills and qualities holistically so they can be the best they can be, have the greatest opportunities available to them and give them a future that might have only been dreamed about previously.
The overall aim is to increase their chances for a better life, help them to escape the poverty cycle and slum living conditions a lot of them have grown up in and give them a life with more options and opportunities where they can have access to greater employment choices, greater skills and greater brighter futures.
This is already evident with huge progress in so many skills in the children since the Program began in November 2016. Since then in excess of 70 – 80 children, as a conservative estimate but which could be more, have been a part of the program with 20-25 being regular attendees. Training happens mornings and evenings during school time and early morning, mid morning and possibly early to mid afternoon during the holiday periods. Fruit is often provided to the children before and after training sessions as well to assist in a proper nutritious diet.
An excellent side advantage is also that the beaches and village is becoming a much safer place as more and more people are becoming trained in water and surf skills.
Here is a short clip showing the WoW Jokul training in late December 2016 and January 2017 – https://youtu.be/atzRshs0Cds
With the Indian Open of Surfing coming up at the end of this month on the 26th, 27th and 28th of May in Sasihithlu, the WoW Jokul are training very hard to compete to the best of their ability. Walkin’ On Water Mangalore is look for a sponsor for their WoW Jokul Indian Open of Surfing athletes to provide uniforms, accommodation, transport, meals, entry fees and other costs that will be incurred for the Jokul to compete and be a part of this National event and second edition of the Indian Open of Surfing, India’s National Surfing Titles. If any of the readers of this article are interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact Walkin On Water Mangalore on jamo@walkinonwatermangalore.cm They would be extremely appreciative of the support and assisting build and grow this program in Mangalore but also in assisting the development and growth of surfing in Mangalore and India.
It is just the beginning of this Program which is hoped to continue and grow for the Koorikatta village children after the coming monsoon season but also expand to new locations to give other children in similar circumstances the same new opportunities and chance for a better future. If you would like to assist and support this Program, please click here to see their CrowdFunding Project – https://chuffed.org/project/increasing-skills-and-future-opportunities-for-indian-youth.
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