The Surfer Kids was founded in 2010 in Mossel Bay, in the Southern Cape of South Africa and is a registered Non-Profit Organization (NPO) with registration number 136-987 NPO.

​Our MISSION STATEMENT is: “The empowerment of marginalized and impoverished youths through character building activities that teach commitment and dedication”

​Our primary medium for achieving this objective is surfing.

THE SURFER KIDS Board of Trustees are:

• ​Hermann Vivier -Co-Founder, Chairman
• ​Jenya Zhivaleva – Co-Founder, Trustee
• ​Andries Matthysen – Trustee
• ​Thinus Mouton – Trustee

THE SURFER KIDS was originally founded as the Social Outreach Arm of UNRAVEL SURF TRAVEL, a surf & travel business partnership between husband & wife Hermann Vivier and Jenya Zhivaleva.

UNRAVEL SURF TRAVEL specializes in Surf Trips throughout Southern Africa and provides ongoing support to THE SURFER KIDS, which includes an Outreach Day with THE SURFER KIDS on every two-week Surf Trip of the Garden Route!

The Surfer Kids have since evolved into an fully fledged independent organization, with a Core Surf Program that runs five days a week and a team comprising 3 full-time and 2 part-time members.

The Surfer Kids is funded entirely through donations, both from local and international supporters, businesses and partner organizations.

After six years of being operational, in 2016, The Surfer Kids realized their long term goal, and achieved their most significant milestone to date, by opening a permanent headquarters at Diaz Beach.

The Surfer Kids Center at Diaz Beach houses an equipment inventory, a surfboard repair facility and a media center with high speed Internet. It has enabled The Surfer Kids to vastly expand the scope and efficacy of their program.