Project Launch:

Every year thousands of surfers from around the world come to Chicama, Peru for its never ending waves. Like many other world famous surf spots, Chicama is still a rural underdeveloped town and due to a lack of environmental awareness, pollution is a major issue. Keeping beaches clean is not only an aesthetic issue, but is also important for safety. Children surf and swim every day in the ocean and play at the beach and the majority of the residents make their living in the fishing industry. A polluted ocean is unhealthy for the kids and community members as well as for the sea life on which the community is dependent. In 2011, World Connect partnered with a local Peace Corps Volunteer and the Malabrigo Surf School, a government funded program that provides free daily surfing lessons and equipment use to the local children, to paint murals and signs up and down the beach that promote keeping the beach clean and not littering. The kids who participated created their own designs and slogans allowing them to feel greater ownership over the project. It was a creative and fun way for the local kids and the broader community to learn about the importance of the environment.