Something amazing is happening in the waters of the ‘African Galapagos’

For years, surfing was for boys and household chores were for girls on this remote island. But not anymore (Picture: Shutterstock/SOMA)

When Francisca Sequeira first visited the beautiful beaches of São Tomé, she noticed something strange.

She was the only woman with a surfboard.

The flight attendant had stayed in the surf town of Santana when she first flew to the island in 2017. The wider region is known as the ‘African Galápagos’ due to its unspoiled beaches, tropical rainforests and abundance of wildlife.

Each time Francisca went to the beach, she couldn’t shake her confusion as to why no women were out on the seemingly-perfect water. To her, it was a no-brainer – who wouldn’t want to make the most of such glorious waves?

It soon turned out, they’d simply never been taught.

So, in 2020, Francisca decided to take matters into her own hands. She founded SOMA (which stands for Surfistas Orgulhosas na Mulher d’África in Portuguese and translates to Surfers Proud of the African Women in English) and teamed up with mental health professionals, surf coaches, and social activists to create a first-of-it’s-kind surf therapy programme to transform the lives of girls on the island.

São Tomé and neighbouring island Principe off the coast of Central Africa (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

‘Francisca built up the project in a super small way’, Rita Xavier, who works as head of communications and finance for SOMA, tells Metro. She explains how Francisca had planned to volunteer in Mozambique after the pandemic, until a friend pointed her towards São Tomé.

‘She would visit maybe twice a month as a flight attendant and each time go round the girls’ homes door by door, asking their parents if they could surf,’ Rita adds. ‘A lot of them didn’t even know how to swim. After the beach, they’d go home and all cook lunch together.’

When Rita arrived on the island in November 2021 she saw the impact Francisca had made instantly. I was meant to stay for one month and be home by Christmas,’ she remembers. ‘Instead, I had to tell my family “no, I’m not coming home”. I’d fallen in love with São Tomé and what SOMA does.

‘There’s nothing more powerful than seeing a girl and a boy sharing a wave,’ adds Rita. ‘The ocean has no gender. The waves are the same for you, for me, for a man in Africa, for a woman in Africa. You all go through the same process to ride it. First we paddle, then we stand up, then we ride the wave.’

SOMA was the first surf therapy program on the African continent (Picture: Shutterstock/SOMA)

Francisca and Rita have helped transform the lives of nearly 100 girls (Picture: SOMA Surf)

Now, Rita is just as much part of the scheme as Francisca, and the girls and women on São Tomé have become family. 

‘It is like having 90 kids, they are all an inspiration,’ she smiles. 

‘Even the small ones, they are the strongest girls I have seen in my life. From four-years-old, they carry water on their head, they clean the house, do dishes, learn how to defend themselves. Life is not always easy for them. But they are the strongest girls you can imagine. We have one who started to surf in September and she won the national championship in June.’

Taking the girls to the water doesn’t just give them self-confidence, but creates an image that has shifted perceptions on the island.

In the UNDP Gender Inequality index 2021-2022), São Tomé ranked 138th of 191 in terms of gender inequality. For years, girls had been expected to sit at home and complete household tasks. A lack of educational opportunities, an acceptance of domestic abuse and poor healthcare all impacted the island’s female population.

Part of SOMA’s work now goes toward changing things for future generations. As well as surfing lessons, the non-profit provides daily meals, tuition fees and school materials. 

Rita, who is talking to Metro from her home in Portugal, has just printed out several worksheets to take to São Tomé as she is heading out there the following morning.

‘This is not a job to us,’ she adds. ‘These girls are in our heads everyday. Sometimes I’ll go to bed in Portugal and go “oh, this girl had a maths test today, I wonder how the results went.”’

Recently, the story of the island’s waves has also been brought to a greater audience. In collaboration with Betclic and Shutterstock, the film ‘Surfing Through Adversity: The SOMA Story’ was created to highlight how the small African country has been transformed by surfing.

Betclic [co-producer of the film] was looking to feature SOMA as part of a new initiative to bring attention to unnoticed and under-represented athletes. 

At the same time, creative platform Shutterstock was seeking to increase the diversity of the images on its database. There were plenty images of white women surfing, but barely any Black girls doing the same.

Thus, Surfing Through the Odds was created. Shutterstock Studios traveled to São Tomé with a small crew – which included South African director Ana-Filipa Domingues and Brazilian photographer Ana Catarina – navigated the rocky terrain and battled a petrol shortage to transport film kit across locations on São Tomé.

And the final product wasn’t just a film about surfing, it was a reflection of the growing power of the island’s girls.

Rita adds: ‘These girls, the film and the Shutterstock pictures are part of history now.

SOMA Surf uses surf therapy as a way to promote female empowerment on the island of São Tomé(Picture: Shutterstock/SOMA)

Francisca launched the non-profit to fight gender inequality through Surf Therapy Programs (Picture: SOMA Surf)

‘The bigger picture of what we do is exploring how society can become more equal in Africa, and the world as a whole. It was so empowering for the girls to see themselves represented and know people wanted to see the film and hear their stories. We want them to be inspired to become advocates of their own movement.

‘We don’t want a girl to become empowered but then go home to a family who doesn’t understand that process. She could get in trouble or be kicked out of her home. That’s why we work with all the family and all the wider community. 

‘We plant a seed of change but give water to everyone to help it grow.’

Noelia Lage Vazquez, Shutterstock Studios’ Executive Producer, hopes the film will go down in history. She travelled to São Tomé with the film team and is still inspired by the scenes she saw there.

Noelia tells Metro: ‘It was very powerful to see first hand the impact that Soma has in these girls’ lives and the community.

‘We all (Betclic, Coming Soon and Shutterstock) felt inspired by their work and we were excited to join forces to not only fill a content gap and create beautiful content, but most importantly to support Soma’s mission.’

To find out more about SOMA Surf, click here. And to watch Surfing Through the Odds in full, click here.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Kirsten.Robertson@metro.co.uk 

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