19MAGIC HAITIFEBRUARY 2012

Imagine Haiti as the new surf hub of the Caribbean. Imagine hundreds (maybe thousands) of visitors traveling here each year to surf o! the coast of Jac-

mel. This may sound like a distant (if not impossible) dream, but to the people of the SurfHaiti organization, it is a more than a possibility. In fact, the organization’s self-stated mission is to “improve the spiritual, physical, vocational, academic, and social lives of Haitians by establishing Jacmel as a surf tourism destination.”

“In studying the coastline of Haiti on Google Earth, I could see that Jacmel had great surf potential,” explains Dr. Ken Pierce, Co-Founder and Field Director of SurfHaiti. “My "rst day in Jacmel con-"rmed it. One of my "rst sur"ng experi-ences in Haiti was riding ten-foot waves generated by the hurricane that hit Haiti in 2010. It was incredible.”

But perhaps what was more in-credible that day was the beach

Postcard in Motion

By Maureen Boyer Photos by Bryce Johnson

20 MAGIC HAITI FEBRUARY 2012

packed with kids who had come to watch. “They were yell-ing to me and waving,” says Dr. Pierce, who now lives in Jacmel with his wife Diane, a nurse who runs the sister NGO HaitiBaby. “They were calling the waves for me, and letting me know when one was coming. When I got back on shore, all I heard was “Mwen ka fe sa?” (Can I do that?). Their penchant for surf was evi-dent.”

So the week later, Dr. Pierce, who learned to surf as a kid in Panama, traveled back to Haiti, this time with a few more surf-boards and a desire to use his life-long passion as a way to give back. “Sur!ng changed my life, it has become my north star,” he says. “So I wanted it to have the

gram and development projects and, to surf themselves.

Now, about ten to !fteen kids voluntarily show up each day to learn how to surf. They range in age from about 7 to 20, but most are thirteen or fourteen. Their !rst few times, Dr. Pierce gets in the water with them to as-sess their swimming. Then, slowly but surely, he pushes them in and teaches them how to paddle. And although they introduced the sport only 18 months ago, many of the children have taken to surf-ing on a daily basis, and some of the older kids are able to teach the younger kids.

same impact on others.” With the help of Co-Founder Alan Pot-ter, SurfHaiti was born. Located on the Kabic Beach in Jacmel, a small wooden house shaded by tall coconut trees serves as the

guesthouse for volunteers and surfers from around the world, from France, Australia, Uruguay, Canada, Hawaii, California, Ohio, Florida, Germany, and Italy, who come to help with the surf pro-

21MAGIC HAITIFEBRUARY 2012

“We would like to see these kids develop as community lead-ers with a passion for sur!ng and for keeping their environment clean” says Dr. Pierce. Already, Marco, a fourteen-year-old, has become the surf crew ‘leader’. He distributes the boards, and makes sure the students rotate. “The kids are quick to get the boards,” says Dr. Pierce, laughing. “But slow to bring them back.” The kids are also shown sur!ng videos so they can develop their technique and see what is pos-sible. “Since I showed them the !rst video of a professional surf-er, their sur!ng has gone to the next level.” They even organized a sur!ng contest, and the kids were thrilled.

“We will de!nitely see Hai-tian surfers on a world tour in the future. They are great athletes;

they just need a chance,” a"rms Dr. Pierce. Some of the students are showing above average tal-ent for their level of experience. “They are intuitive about the wa-ter and hard-working,” he adds. “If they are provided with the prop-er resources (better equipment, more exposure to professional surfers, more sur!ng videos) and are willing to commit to serious training and coaching, they will de!nitely be able to compete at the junior level in the next two or !ve years.”

The surf industry generates billions of dollars in sales yearly and many developing nations

have capitalized on the develop-ment of a “surf culture” that pro-vides jobs and a passion for en-vironmental protection. Sur!ng has a chance to become a bona !de sport in Haiti and it is becom-ing more possible through the e#orts of Dr. Pierce and SurfHaiti.

This passion for sur!ng is contagious enough to spread the sport along the coastlines of Haiti and the young kids in Jacmel have a chance to become pioneers of a newly introduced sport.

For more information, please visit surfhaiti.org