Senegal Surf School Brings 20 Girls Back to Class

In the fishing village of Xataxely on Senegal's coast, about 20 girls are trading dropped education for surfboards and a second chance at school.

The Surf Academy, run by US nonprofit Black Girls Surf, offers a straightforward trade to girls who left school or never enrolled: you can ride the waves, but only if you hit the books too. The four-month program pairs morning surf lessons with evening classes, giving girls from traditional Lebou fishing families a path back to education.

Seynabou Tall, 14, left school to help her family make ends meet. Now she's back in the classroom, splitting her days between mastering waves and mathematics. The academy provides everything the girls need: surfboards, wetsuits, and trained instructors who teach both ocean safety and academic skills.

Days start with physical training and surfing along Dakar's Atlantic coastline. When the sun sets, the girls trade their wetsuits for notebooks. For many participants, this marks their first real opportunity to build confidence, set goals, and imagine futures beyond their village's fishing traditions.

The program specifically targets the Lebou community, indigenous Wolof people who have fished the waters of Senegal's Cap-Vert peninsula for generations. In these households, girls often leave education early to contribute to family income or help with domestic work.

The Ripple Effect

What starts as surf lessons creates waves of change far beyond the beach. When girls gain education and confidence, entire communities benefit from their new skills and perspectives. The academy proves that creative approaches can solve stubborn problems, showing other coastal communities how sports can open doors to learning.

These 20 girls represent more than just students returning to class. They're pioneering a model that could reach thousands of other girls across West Africa's fishing villages, proving that the right incentive can transform educational access.

One surf session at a time, Senegal's coast is seeing young women discover both their strength in the water and their potential in the classroom.