00:00The coast of Dakar is a paradise for surfers.
00:04But while the sport is largely male-dominated in Senegal, a small academy is trying to change
00:09that and more.
00:12These girls are not only learning how to ride the waves.
00:16Surfing is also a way for them to get back into the education system, which many of them
00:20left years ago.
00:21We are Braganistan, we are Braganistan!
00:25And when I found out that girls in West Africa, that's not a priority for the parent.
00:33And it's an expense, an extra expense.
00:36And when you look at the yearly income, you have to make a choice between eating and sending
00:40your daughter to school.
00:41So we just took that component away from them.
00:46And they love that.
00:47Because now they can see their child go to school and they know they're going to get an education.
00:53The surf academy is financed by the US-based Black Girls Surf Organization.
00:59For four months, the teenagers are learning how to tame the ocean on their boards and also
01:03follow a night schooling curriculum for some additional months.
01:08At first, my parents said surfing was a sport for men, and they didn't agree to let me do
01:15it.
01:16But in the end, they understood it was my passion, and now they accept it.
01:20They know I have a promising future in surfing, which is why they let me practice it today.
01:27And I want to succeed in this field, travel to take part in competitions, and win the title
01:32of African champion.
01:37African women from the region has already become an idol for the girls.
01:41Kaju Sambe is Senegal's first professional female surfer.
01:46At the beginning, it was difficult to surf because we're girls, and they weren't used to
01:52seeing us surf.
01:53They said that maybe girls should stay at home, have a husband, cook, clean, all that.
01:59So I told myself, no, I wanted to do sport.
02:04Sometimes it's hard for us, our parents didn't want to let us go, so my cousin, another friend
02:10and I started surfing.
02:13With the same determination, the girls from the surf academy are setting their sights on
02:17their first competitions, riding the waves towards a promising future.
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