These girls from Fundacion Sinumar in Colombia have stolen our hearts!
San Bernardo Del Viento is a small town in Colombia, located on the Atlantic Coast of the country. It is surrounded by a rich marine ecosystem where the main economical activity has historically been fishing. However, even when it sounds like a big irony, the ocean has mostly been an unfriendly territory for the women in the community.
While men spend their days fishing, women and girls in San Bernando del Viento have traditionally seen the ocean as a dangerous, forbidden place. That’s now changing thanks to the amazing educational work spearheaded by Fundacion Sinumar.
Lead by rad visionary, singer-songwriter Dorcas Bautista, Fundacion Sinumar is using surfing as a way to teach local girls valuable life skills, in addition to ocean conservation, marine life, and mangrove protection.
The program is called Women of the Sea, and combines surfing lessons with on land activities such as training for surfing, self growth sessions and ocean education.
According to Dorcas Bautista "being able to face the strength of the ocean has been beneficial for the girls physically and psychologically. For them, becoming more familiar with the ocean meant building a deeper connection with their territory, finding their own identity and feeling proud of their roots. They have also discovered their inner strength to face life's challenges because our sea is a wild, strong, open and rough. This helped them to strengthen their femininity, not from weakness but from strength, from the ability to create and to transform. The ocean is the best tool, the best therapy".
Here at Olana Swimwear, we are stoked to have started a meaningful relation with Fundacion Sinumar and we foresee a future where we can do our bit to help these girls continue to pursue their dreams in and out of the water.
Are you curious about the surfboard in the picture? The girls in the community are also learning some surfboard shaping skills and have successfully built some of the boards they use for their surf sessions!
If you want to know more about how Olana is supportunig Fundacion Sinumar, stay tuned to our news on this blog and our social media, and follow @fundacionsinumar on Instagram.