Surfers bring aid to wave-rich Mentawai Islands

Lincoln Feast

Indonesia: With perfect waves, warm water and jungle-fringed beaches, Indonesia's Mentawai Islands are a paradise for wealthy western surfers.

But beyond the soft sand and swaying coconut palms, diseases like malaria, measles, cholera and tetanus subject the islands' 70,000 people to high rates of death and illness.

In the worst affected areas, one in three children dies. Half of all families throughout this island chain 100 miles (160 km) off Sumatra's west coast have lost at least one child to illness, UNESCO research shows. New Zealand doctor Dave Jenkins saw the suffering at first-hand on a surfing holiday in 1999, and was moved to form the charity SurfAid International to "improve the health of people living in isolated regions connected to us through surfing".

Since then, thanks to a programme providing insecticide-treated mosquito nets and education on nutrition and hygiene, malaria rates in SurfAid's pilot villages have fallen by more than 75 percent.

The scheme has also attracted the support of New Zealand and Australian government aid agencies, as well as surf industry heavyweights such as Quiksilver and Billabong.

Professionally sponsored surfers who regularly visit the islands for video and photo shoots have also joined in.

"Can we really sit aboard our luxury $200-a-day charter boats, enjoying our fresh fish and cold beer, while people are dying from completely preventable diseases a few hundred metres away on shore?" former pro Luke Egan said on SurfAid's Web site, www.surfaidinternational.org.

"No. We have to help."

In the village of Katiet, the influence of visiting surfers and SurfAid is evident. Local people in dugout canoes ply handicrafts to the charter boats anchored off the village's famous surf break, known variously as Lance's Right, Hollow Trees or H.T.'s. Groups of children chorus "hello mate!" to a few surfers wandering in the well-tended village, asking for their photos to be taken and laughing at the results on digital camera screens.

SurfAid is now renovating a property in Katiet that it plans to operate as a centre to train small groups of islanders to spread the anti-malaria message, and showcase how they can improve hygiene and nutrition for their families.

"Education is a key," said Kirk Willcox, SurfAid's communications director. "In some places, they think malaria comes from coconuts, and often the kids suffer from malnutrition because their diet is low in fresh vegetables and protein."

(Reuters)