What if a single wave could change a child’s life?

Hi my name is Franco Tirtoprodjo. I’m a Peruvian Indonesian surfer and surfing is honestly my biggest passion. Over time I really fell in love with the ocean and everything it gives me, like freedom, happiness, and a place where I feel like myself.

I started surfing when I was younger and at first it was just something I did, but over time it became something I truly loved. Being in the ocean made me feel free in a way nothing else does, and that’s when I realized how powerful surfing can be.

For my final school project, part of the Green School SOAP (Student Ocean Ambassador Program), I’m supporting a program called Surfers for Diversity.

It’s a program connected to Green School, in collaboration with Matahari School, where children from the Matahari community with different abilities like Autism, Down Syndrome, and ADHD are supported through surfing and going to the beach.

We use surfing as a form of therapy so they can experience freedom, joy, and just be themselves. In the water things are different. They smile more, they open up more, and you can really see their confidence grow.

I’ve been part of this program since middle school and it honestly changed how I see surfing. It’s not just something fun to do, it can actually make a real difference in someone’s life. Seeing the kids happy and improving every session is something I’ll never forget and I want to make sure it keeps going.

Right now the program needs more support. There are costs for transportation and other things like equipment and helping the instructors who give their time and energy to these kids. Without enough funding it’s hard to run the program as often as it should.

The donations will go directly towards:

• Supporting and paying the surf instructors who work closely with the children and keep them safe in the water.

• Improving and replacing essential surf equipment like life jackets.

• Additional safety equipment where needed. ( helmets cost 112$ )

• Covering transportation and logistics to get the children to the beach.

• Helping the program run more often and create more different water based experiences for the kids.

My goal is to help raise money so more kids can experience this, and so the program can keep going and growing.

Any support means a lot, even something small can help make this happen. Thank you for taking the time to read this.