The closest place on earth to the middle of the planet, where the 0º latitude and 0º longitude points meet, you can find one of the world's least visited countries: São Tomé island… As the second smallest country in Africa, São Tomé saw the first local group of girls surf for the first time in late 2019 when our founder, Francisca Sequeira visited the island and invited a group of girls to a surf class... and just like that surf  literally 'took off' in the community of Santana and in the whole country! But so much more could be done! The fact that the no girls were surfing in São Tomé before represents the extreme gender inequality Santomense women face everyday. Knowing that this is a reality in the majority of the countries in Africa, and in an effort to support African girls, Francisca teamed up with mental health professionals, surf coaches and social activists to develop a complete surf therapy curriculum exclusive for girls aged 6-18 years old, becoming the first African surf therapy program exclusive to girls in the world. 

With an ambition to establish a gold standard program for women empowerment through surf therapy in Africa, SOMA has now 90 graduated girls.   

SOMA is paddling towards a day where empowered women are surfing infinite waves of union , justice and sustainability across Africa.