Pura Vida No Pro 2010, once again heartwarming.
The Pura Vida No Pro, what can I say? As always, it left me feeling happy and sad, knowing that this is the best day these kids may well have had in quite a while. Happy because it is an uplifting experience, and sad, as always, when the bus has to leave at the end of the day. This was my third year participating in the event.
For those who are not yet familiar with the PVNP, basically it is a day of fun for a group of orphans from San Jose Costa Rica. These kids live in several orphanages around the San Jose area, and the event is paid for and staffed completely by donations and volunteers. The idea is to teach surfing to these kids, many of whom may have never even been to the ocean before. The day features breakfast and lunch, arts and crafts, horseback riding, games and fun stuff to participate in as well as surfing. The surfing is taught by many local surfers, lifeguards, and even some Costa Rican pro surfers who take the time to help out. The day culminates with a surf contest that the children are encouraged to participate in.
This year was another huge success, both for me personally, and for the entire group of folks who participated. I volunteered to work with a girl who had never surfed before, and after just one try she stood right up on her surfboard. After a few more minutes, she had caught at least five waves, riding for more than 50-100 feet each time, not bad for a first timer who is just 9 years old. She ended up being the only girl to participate in the surf contest, and our team took second place overall. I was later told she had never even been to the ocean before this day. Wow!
The day is always a great way to help improve the lives of these kids who have more than likely lost everything in their lives at some point. It fills them with courage to overcome fear of the ocean, and gives them the confidence to learn how to surf. It is quite a feeling to see the expressions of happiness and confidence on those faces, mixed in with the shyness and fear as well, of course. I know that it is a huge achievement to learn how to surf, and it may not have an immediate impact on some of the kids’ lives, but it will certainly manifest over time, possibly in ways such as patience, overall learning, and confidence to try to achieve other things they may not have otherwise had the courage for.
I am sure many others have had similar experiences at the no pro event, and I would love to hear from you all. Feel free to email me or post directly if you like, whatever is easiest. I would love to post up some other people’s experiences as well to share.
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