THE PROBLEM WE ADDRESS
Growing up next to the ocean, but far from it.
Living next to the ocean without its benefits
Cabarete's economy lives from the ocean, yet local kids rarely learn water safety, gain ocean skills or get the jobs that come with them. Without a real connection to the ocean, they also don't learn to protect it.
Limited access to quality education
Most families can't afford private school, and public schools have very limited resources. Kids attend, but they don't get the education or support they need, and they stay exposed to the same risks.
Little structure, real risks
Many spend long hours without adult supervision, with few safe activities and few positive role models, exposed to risks such as drug use, school dropout and early pregnancy.
Girls almost absent from the water
On an island surrounded by waves, female surfing is still very rare: only 6 women are registered with the national surf federation today.
OUR MISSION
To give children and young people from vulnerable communities in the Dominican Republic free access to surfing and holistic development, using the ocean as a tool for prevention, education and opportunity.
OUR VISION
A Dominican Republic where local youth, and especially women, lead in ocean sports as athletes, coaches, lifeguards and guardians of the ocean.
OUR VALUES
Awareness
Knowing yourself, your choices and the ocean you depend on.
Discipline
Showing up, training and following through, in and out of the water.
Respect for the ocean
Love and care for nature and our communities.
Resilience
You fall, you paddle back out.
Transparency
We show where every donation goes.
Equal opportunity
The ocean belongs to everyone.
WHO WE SERVE
Kids from age 8, with a special focus on girls.
Children and young people from coastal communities around Cabarete who want to learn to surf, belong to a community and grow.
HOW CHANGE HAPPENS
Many kids in our community spend long hours without adult supervision and have few safe activities to choose from. Surfing is what brings them to us: they come because they love it. Around that, we build consistent structure, with regular training, coaches they trust and clear expectations. Because they are working toward something they love, they put in extra effort, and that habit of effort, responsibility and respect starts to show at school and at home.
For girls, the water becomes a space to gain confidence and see themselves as athletes and leaders.
01
Weekly surf and physical training
Free sessions, 4 times a week, with certified coaches.
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02
Discipline, confidence and a safe community
Kids learn responsibility, resilience and respect, through something they love.
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03
Better choices, fewer risks
The commitment they build carries into school and home.
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04
New paths
National athlete, surf instructor, lifeguard, or simply a stronger, more confident young person.
OUR PRINCIPLE
A place on the team is earned.
Kids join because they love surfing, but staying means meeting our expectations: showing up, keeping up at school, and respecting coaches, teammates and the ocean. Many arrive with little sense of responsibility; we guide them step by step. We want every child to feel that being part of Soul Surfers is something special, and worth working for.
WHY SURFING?
More than a sport.
Surfing combines intense physical exercise, time in nature, constant challenge and failure, and full focus on the present. Around the world it is used as therapy for veterans and for young people affected by violence, and studies with at-risk youth have found less risk-taking and stronger relationships. It is also a path to real careers: competition, coaching and lifeguarding.
WHY A FOCUS ON GIRLS?
We invest where the gap is biggest.
Boys and girls share many of the same risks, but girls face more: sexual violence, early pregnancy and the expectation to carry the chores at home, which often end their schooling and their sport early. In surfing they are almost invisible. Boys get the same structure, coaching and mentoring in our core program; girls also get Flores de Océano. Our goal: more Dominican women in the water, competing, coaching and leading in ocean sports.
GIVING BACK
Our Junior Coach pathway
Support from the Foundation is never one-way. Every participant who keeps receiving Foundation support, such as training, coaching, guidance, competition fees, certifications and travel, gives back to the program in return.
Our older participants commit to a set number of hours each month helping the younger ones: assisting in surfskate and surf sessions, supporting the girls in the water, and helping with filming, video analysis and reports. We treat it like a real job: they have a schedule, they are expected to arrive on time, and every hour is tracked. Along the way they learn responsibility, punctuality, patience, leadership and how to teach, and step by step they are trained to coach the way we do.
It is how they earn their place, how they grow into instructors, and how the Foundation grows its own next generation of coaches.
1
Assistant
Help in surfskate and surf sessions, water safety, equipment and filming.
2
Junior coach
Lead warm-ups, coach a small group under supervision, give simple video feedback and reports.
3
Instructor
After ISA certification, can be hired by the Academy for paid lessons.
Paid work for the Academy is always kept separate from the hours they give back to the Foundation.
Our programs
Youth Development Program
Our core sport program for boys and girls, with the same method as the Academy: two guided surf sessions a week with video analysis, one dry-land session for strength and mobility, and one pool session for swimming, apnea and water safety. Surfskate is coming next.
Flores de Océano: the girls' track
Girls who join to surf also take part in Flores de Océano, an independent women's empowerment initiative that shares our mission. We focus on the water; Flores de Océano focuses on everything outside it. Surf brings them in; this support makes the change last.
Discover the girls' track →
THE GIRLS' TRACK · IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Flores de Océano
Girls face risks boys don't: sexual violence, early pregnancy, and often the expectation to carry the chores at home. Surfing alone is not enough to protect them.
That's why every girl who joins the Foundation to surf also takes part in Flores de Océano, an independent women's empowerment initiative led by positive psychology therapist Fernanda Rocío. We share the same mission, so we work together: we focus on the water, and Flores de Océano on everything outside it. Through surfing, emotional intelligence and reconnection with their bodies, girls build confidence, overcome fears and grow in a safe community of women.
Personal development
Sex education, emotional intelligence applied to surfing, and emotional self-management for life.
School support
Help with school subjects, so girls keep up in class while they grow in the water.
Workshops for parents
A monthly emotional education workshop for parents and guardians: better communication, limits without violence, and preventing risks like teen pregnancy.
Psychological support
A specialized psychologist helps girls from high-risk environments heal, recognize their worth and make healthier, more independent choices.
Every girl in Flores de Océano also trains with Soul Surfers coaches four times a week: two surf sessions, one dry-land session and one pool session.
Support the girls' track. Donations made for Flores de Océano go to the Foundation and are used only for this program.
Our impact today
10
active participants: 8 girls and 2 boys
8
of them compete: 6 girls and 2 boys
3
certified in first aid
1
certified lifeguard
3
young men from our program on the Dominican national team
STORIES
From first waves to the national team
Luis Alfredo Cruz was one of our first kids. Today, at 19, he surfs for the Dominican national team, works as a surf instructor and is certified in first aid and as a lifeguard. He has completed the path we guided him through. Carlos Manuel and Juan Adolfo, two more boys from our program, are also on the national team and compete internationally. That is the path we want to open for every child, and next, for our girls.
THE NEXT 12 MONTHS
Our goals
16
participants: grow from 10 to 12 girls and 4 boys
Track
weekly attendance for every participant
2
more young people certified as lifeguards
Next step
for our two 16-year-olds: competition, instructor training or work in the surf industry
All
our competitors active in national events
2–3
girls selected for the national team within two years
OUR TEAM
The people behind the program
Emanuel Knudsen
FOUNDER & HEAD COACH
Leads the surf and physical training. Master's in Sports Psychology and Sports Coaching · ISA Level 3 Judge · Strength & Conditioning Coach, ISA level 2 coach. U-natural method level 3 coach.
Leoni Perthold
CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Runs the Foundation and coaches the kids. Bronze medalist in SUP Surf Central American and Caribbean Games 2026 · Dominican National Surf Team · ISA Level 2 Instructor · Lifeguard Instructor
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Fernanda Rocío
CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FLORES DE OCÉANO
Leads the girls' empowerment track in partnership with Soul Surfers Foundation. Positive Psychology Therapist · Life Coach · Emotional Intelligence Educator · 25+ years of experience · Studying a Master's in Sport Psychology
Where the money goes
Soul Surfers Foundation is a registered non-profit in the Dominican Republic, with its own bank account separate from the Academy. Gifts made for a specific program, such as the girls' track, are used only for that program. We publish what comes in and what goes out, and donors who prefer to stay anonymous always will.
Today the program runs because the Academy's founders, who are certified coaches, teach the kids for free, and the Academy covers basic costs. When Academy income drops, free coaching can't always be guaranteed. Donors and partners make the program secure, so it can stay stable and grow.