NO SCHOOL, NO SURF

I first came to India in 2005. I was doing my masters degree in social work and I was looking for a place to do my internship with an NGO. That’s how I came across the Sebastian Indian Social Project or SISP, a school that works with the poorest of the poor around Kovalam in southwest India. Their mission is to improve lives through education and employment programmes. It didn’t hurt that it was close to the ocean. I’d grown up windsurfing in Belgium and competed professionally, but after years of injuries I gave it up and took up surfing. I suspected India had waves, so I could surf while completing my studies.

One of the first things I noticed was all the kids who’d dropped out of school and were living on the streets. Most don’t have parents to take