11 November 2026

A month of connection: thank you for October

October is Mental Health Awareness Month, a global moment for civil society, partners, researchers, advocates, governments and communities to come together and reflect on our collective work and the impact we’re having on children, young people and adolescents across the world in need of mental health support and avenues to build their resilience and coping skills.

This year’s World Mental Health Day theme, “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change”, gave us the opportunity to acknowledge the lived experiences of our participants, and to recognise that every one of us has either been affected by mental health challenges or knows someone who has.

For 15 years, children growing up with poverty, violence and adversity have told us what they need, and we built Surf Therapy around their answers. Since 2011 Surf Therapy has reached more than 13,500 children, and 95–99% of participants surveyed at the end of 2025 said they felt safe and had fun.

To mark October Mental Health Awareness month, we hosted a series of events across our five sites with our circle of supporters and community members.

Immersion at Muizenberg Beach

Thank you to the almost 100 community members, partners and friends who joined us on Muizenberg Beach on World Mental Health Day for our annual immersion community event. What is ‘immersion” you may ask. Immersion is one of the first activities in our Surf Therapy curriculum. It’s a safe way to introduce children to the ocean in way that builds trust between peers. Our community was invited to experience it the way a child would in our Surf Therapy course guided by our well trained Surf Therapy coaches.

We repeated Immersion community event across our other sites, welcoming caregivers, friends, supporters and donors to experience and observe mental health awareness month with us.

A special thank you to Mercedes-Benz for spending the day with us in East London.

MustLoveHills x Waves for Change

Our annual October run with MustLoveHills went bigger this year and became a fundraiser: three hours, a 3 km loop in Muizenberg and as many laps as your legs could manage, with sponsors pledging per loop so every lap counted for Waves for Change. Thank you to our partners and sponsors, including Red Bull and [other sponsors], and to the [number] runners who came out to move, connect and support children’s mental health.

“This is our fourth year partnering with Waves for Change, and it’s a cause that sits close to our heart. We’ve always believed in breaking down the barriers that keep people from exercise and from community, and we know firsthand what movement does for your mental health. We also know what it does to have people around you who lift you up and champion you. That goes a long way. Waves for Change and MustLoveHills are doing the same thing in different ways, in different spaces, with different people. That’s exactly why they resonate with us so much. What we loved about this year was putting the fundraising in the participants’ hands. Seeing how much everyone cared, and how well they campaigned on their own pages, said everything about why this partnership works” Kendra Stewart.

A Champion Fundraiser’s 5k
Leonie spent a few weeks in Muizenberg and fell in love with the people, the surf culture and the strong sense of community. Before leaving, Leonie wanted to give something back and chose to fundraise for Waves for Change, which uses surf therapy to help young people build confidence, resilience and a sense of belonging. The community 5k run Leonie organised wasn’t about how fast or how far, but about showing up, connecting and making a little difference together. Our teams joined the run to show their support. Thank you, Leonie.

“What Waves for Change does for young people is truly special to me. Having struggled with my own mental health, I know how important access to support is, and I believe everyone deserves a safe place where they feel seen, supported and accepted, regardless of their background. Seeing their work firsthand made me appreciate the difference they make even more. So when I wanted to give something back to the community that had welcomed me so warmly, supporting Waves for Change felt like a natural choice.” Leonie.