Surfaid International
For most of us living in consumer culture, it’s hard to find anything that has not gone through a PR and marketing department, designed to move us in one way or another. Even well-meaning companies have to resort to market research to ensure that their image and approaches to advertising guarantee the best sales. Perhaps this veneer covering our daily existence can make us a bit cynical at times. Maybe we get the feeling that unseen forces are manipulating everything around us, and the individual is mostly powerless to exert change. But maybe this is not true; maybe one person can be a catalyst to something, which can affect the lives of many.
Surfaid International is an example of one man’s choice to make an impact. Dr. Dave Jenkins started the community based non-profit after a surf trip to the Mentawais. He saw that local people were dying due to preventable diseases that could be easily eradicated through education and community organizing. In many parts of the world we take for granted clean running water and solid waste disposal programs. These services have allowed the modern world to be free of water borne diseases and many other diseases carried by vectors (mosquitoes and rats). Together with the New Zealand and Australian governments Surfaid has undertaken the task of eliminating Malaria using a community development approach aimed at empowering the local people. And their success is improving the lives of thousands.
At Phoresia we’ve focused our efforts widely on surfboard construction because it is an obvious starting point at reducing the impact of our sport on the environment. But the great truth is that there exist endless opportunities for each and every one of us to do something which will create a better quality of life for all. And although it’s possible to have a huge impact like Dr. Jenkins has, it is also possible to live your normal daily life and have a small impact as well. Taking your own bags to the grocery, riding your bike instead of driving, taking better care of your things so that they don’t have to be replaced as often, hell even taking care of yourself by eating healthy and exercising reduces the burden on the health system making your taxes go further. So the next time you feel discouraged about the world, get up and do something or send a donation to Surfaid to help buy a mosquito net, which will protect a child from Malaria.