Cape Town, South Africa – It’s a Monday morning and a dozen teenagers from a school for students with autism and related conditions have arrived for their weekly surf therapy session.
Shrieking with glee, one girl envelops her coach in a bear hug. Others are less demonstrative, but the joy on their faces is palpable.
After trading their school uniforms for wetsuits, the students gather on Cape Town’s Muizenberg Beach. A gentle offshore breeze is blowing, and neat rows of waves stack up invitingly towards Cape Point. But before the budding surfers get near the water, they must do a land-based mental health session.
The day’s lesson, coach Bulelani Zelanga informs Al Jazeera, is called Thankful Take 5.
First, the coaches list three things they’re thankful for.
“I am thankful that I found Waves for Change,” Zelanga says. “I am thankful for my support network. And I am thankful that I am still breathing.”
Next the children are taken through a series of breathing…