Life is beautiful

Yesterday the surf was so-so and I was still resting a few of my wounds from the round of reef wrestling the day before. I was sitting on the front porch of the restaurant and Dr. Dave Jenkins from SurfAid sat down next to me. He’s staying here at the resort until the end of the week while he visits some villages in the area. We got to talking and he invited me and our surf guide Ray and the wife of one of the owner’s here at the resort to come along on the Wave of Compassion trip to a nearby village. We took the Indies Trader III with the pros and the traveling circus which was cool; that boat is phenomenal and maybe the most perfect charter boat in Indo next to the Indies Trader IV which is affectionately referred to here in the islands as the Deathstar. Anyway, we got out there and I had no idea what to expect. It turns out that this little 10 hour excursion would be one of the most powerful and moving things I’ve done in my life to this point.

A little background for you… This village 1.5 years ago had an active malaria rate of 1 in 3. Today the malaria rate is down to 1 in 200 thanks to Dr. Dave and the SurfAid team. The village has a population of about 300 and there are no utilities, whatsoever. A couple buildings had small generators to run a TV or what not but there was no refrigeration and cooking was done on a fire or wood stove. Especially alarming is that there is no fresh running water and no sewer system other than open ditches about 1’ deep. The structures are built well but still rather primitive; we saw 2 concrete buildings, the rest were built of wood and local materials and most had a tin roof. There were marshes all around, makeshift soccer fields or volleyball courts and little gardens spread out through the village. This isn’t like primitive people, it’s just primitive living conditions. Almost all the clothing is donated, a great deal by surfers, and they make money through the sale of coconuts, artisan products, fishing and sometimes logging. But, most everything you see in the villages is made solely for their use.

The thing that grabbed me as soon as we made it up to the village from the beach were the children. I got choked up several times looking at these children, most of whom were happy and living the simplest life known to man but so many of them were sick, all were malnourished and none of them had proper clothing or hygiene and access to care facilities. Dr. Dave said that there are 2 ways the Indonesians gauge the health level of their children: they are either smiling, or they are dead…everything in between is a great unknown to them and if they’re not smiling or dead they don’t know what to do.

These children were the most beautiful children I had ever seen; as innocent as they were beautiful, smiles with so much energy they could light up an entire city. It’s amazing that they can be as happy as they are when all around them is disease and poverty which will claim them all at some time without help from the outside world. They live the simplest life imaginable and live in a way that is so foreign to me yet is the only way they know how to live. I’m moved by the simplicity of it all and it makes me appreciate their ability to live as they do; they’re an inspiration to us all on how to live a simple life and to preserver through the hardest conditions possible, yet still be smiling and laughing at every moment.

Through the efforts of amazing individuals like Dr. Dave and the organizations they setup like SurfAid International, these people, these children, are being given the opportunity to make the world around them a better place through efforts to eliminate deadly diseases like malaria and cholera and provide basic sanitation, nutrition and care facilities that every single one of us take for granted each day. Most of these people will never see an automobile, a computer, a microwave, a McDonalds or even a water faucet or toilet in their lifetime. But, in most cases they are happier and freer than any of us are, or maybe ever will be. I can’t really put into words the profound impact this 4 hour tour of their village had on me and the effect it has on my outlook on life and where I am in the world and where I want to be. I can truthfully say that yesterday was one of the greatest days of my life, for I saw into the eyes of children who were so happy to see me and were alive and healthier because of my efforts in helping an organization like SurfAid achieve its goal in villages like the one we visited yesterday. That's what life is all about. Sure, surfing is fantastic, but the ability to connect with people like we did and see that the efforts you support bring those smiles to the villagers faces and they are in a better place because of it is better than some 8' wave or ride of a lifetime.

I don’t care how many great photos I get from this trip of surf or beautiful beaches or what not, these photos are unquestionably going to be my favorite ones of the bunch; there are dozens more, these were just a few of my favorites. Please enjoy these photos and be thankful for all that you have and take some inspiration from the looks on all of the kids’ faces you see here, including mine.