SOS Africa has recently partnered with The Little Optimist Trust and Sailing Therapy Academy as part of the African charity’s holistic approach to education. Changing one’s outlook affects your mental health and your ability to tackle life’s challenges.
The mission of The Little Optimist Trust and Sailing Therapy Academy is to inspire children to look past their present circumstances and look to the future with hope and possibility. Our Sailing Academy empowers kids through skills training and therapy, plus motivates them to be optimistic about their lives and their futures.
What is Sailing Therapy?
We use Optimist Dinghies and the teachings of The Little Optimist, to offer our little sailors an opportunity, a fantastic experience, new skills and the ultimate passion.
Our unique Sailing Therapy Programmes are specially designed for and aimed at the most marginalised of kids (less abled, under-resourced, less included). We introduce these children to the ocean and sailing, and the therapeutic properties and possibilities around it.
These are children who would normally have no opportunity to access this type of experience or program. We aim to break down the barriers of entry and create inclusiveness into the marine and sailing industry. They learn to sail, learn about their environment and the oceans around them, as well as about safety around water and other skills and teachings based on the growth mindset.
All kids leave empowered, optimistic and full of renewed confidence as well as with a passion for the ocean and sailing. Our multi-week programs are being developed to offer further skills development and a pathway for at-risk and less included youth to be able to gain access, education and employment in the marine and sailing industry.
How does Sailing Therapy help Children?
Over the past 4 years, we have seen how our Sailing Therapy experiences and programmes play a key role in helping kids who are compromised either health or socio-economically wise, to overcome their physical and mental hardships.
Studies have shown that similar types of activity have resulted in the improvement of motor skills and coordination, self-confidence, independence, identity formation, focus and pride through accomplishment.
We use sailing to show that the benefits of this therapeutic and recreational rehabilitative activity, can offer all the above as well as the experience of adventure, mobility and freedom.
Using Therapeutic mechanisms, we believe we offer:
- Enhanced self-efficacy from learning and mastery of new skills
- Exposure to, and learnings from, nature (wind, water and ocean health, environment, plastic pollution, conservation)
- Experience of pleasure (dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins – the bodies happy/healing chemicals)
- Introduction to water safety and drowning prevention
- Comradery with other participants
- Confidence building and the creation of self-belief and self-worth.
Over 90% of our program attendees are from previously disadvantaged backgrounds and all are compromised economically or health-wise. Our aim is also to promote gender equality and inclusiveness, and our goal is to achieve 50% female graduates.
The Impact of Sailing Therapy on the SOS Africa Charity Children
We first worked with the SOS Africa children last December and the immediate impact was clear to see. After initial caution, the nerves soon turned into pure joy as they relaxed and savoured every moment of this exciting new venture. Towards the end of one of the day’s sessions on water safety and plastic pollution prevention, I noticed a small boy get up and walk away from the group towards the end of the day’s program. I walked after him a little concerned and wondered where he was going? As I was about to ask him what he was doing, he bent down and picked up a piece of plastic blowing towards the water and canals. He turned around and said, “I just had to stop it! it was going to blow into the ocean and that must not happen!” – he turned and walked towards the recycling bin to throw it away. I smiled, got goose bumps, and thought WOW, now that is impact!
Sailing therapy offers children the opportunity to experience sailing and be on the ocean. They see the fish below and respect, learn and fall in love with sailing and the ocean in one day. Now that they love it and understand it, they want to protect it.
Greg Bertish (Founder, The Little Optimist Trust)
To sponsor Sailing Therapy Lessons for disadvantaged South African children please contact SOS Africa.
Click here for more information about SOS Africa’s full range of Holistic Education & Care Activities
