Surfing Helped Nigel, Then He Built 9Miles for Others
A story about the charity
Anyone who has tried surfing knows that the first lesson usually involves a lot of falling off. You paddle out, lose your balance, and climb back onto the board to try again.
Nigel Savel understands how much a young person can learn in that process. Surfing gave him discipline, direction, and somewhere positive to put his energy while growing up. In 2013, he and his wife, Sher’Neil, started 9Miles Project so that young people in their community could have access to the same opportunity.
A surfboard is often what first brings them to the beach, but the relationship continues on land. The organisation provides literacy and academic support, food aid, fitness, art and music therapy, environmental education and life-skills training.
Today, 9Miles Project works with 140 active learners across six communities in South Africa. Its team gets to know the young people in its programmes, understands the challenges around them, and gives them a place where they can learn, spend time, and return each week.
When we began choosing 10 causes for JP Markets’ 10th anniversary, 9Miles stayed with us for one simple reason—it knows how to get young people to show up, and its team keeps showing up for them in return.
JP Markets contributed R10,000 to help 9Miles Project continue that work. We wanted to support Nigel, Sher’Neil, and the people beside them as they give young South Africans access to experiences, guidance, and opportunities that may otherwise have been out of reach.
At 9Miles, progress can begin with standing on a surfboard for a few seconds longer than last time. From there, who knows how far a young person can go?
