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Durban's Street Kids Take to Surfing, But City Still Concerned of World Cup Image
At the end of the day, he'll return his surfboard to a nearby community centre and then curl up on a downtown sidewalk to sleep.
Wonder is among a dozen young black boys taking to the waves every day through a community group called Umthombo, which is coaching street kids in surfing and other sports to keep them off the street while providing counselling to find more lasting solutions to their problems.
"When I'm surfing, I don't sniff glue. I want to leave it behind," said Wonder.
His parents have both died, and he ran away from his uncle's home, where Wonder says he was beaten and often denied meals.
He says he'd rather live on the streets than return to his uncle. In his tattered wetsuit, he's found a new identity. After a year of practise, he won second place in a local competition, scooping a trophy, a T-shirt and "a big bag of chips".
Emma Sibilo, one of the social workers at Umthombo, said Wonder's story is typical of the estimated 400 street kids in Durban. Most have turned to the streets after their parents died, or to escape abuse at home.
But life on the streets exposes them to drugs and often forces them into gangs that wage violent turf wars in the city, she said.
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