00:00For Ibra Samb, surfing is more than a sport.
00:03It is a source of peace, freedom and opportunity,
00:06something he hopes to share with a new generation of children
00:09growing up in this fishing village of Ngo,
00:12on the outskirts of Senegal's capital, Dakar.
00:15Through his under-saf school,
00:17he and local volunteers organize free weekly lessons for children
00:21aged between 7 and 14.
00:25Surfing, it brought me a lot of peace.
00:28I feel very happy when I'm in the water.
00:31It brought me something really special,
00:33so I can see that it can help,
00:36even if you don't have a lot here,
00:38because here, life is hard,
00:39so you can have something that can make you happy.
00:45Among his students is his 13-year-old niece,
00:49Cathy Samb, who dreams of becoming a professional surfer.
00:52For her, the experience of riding the waves
00:55offers a sense of confidence and freedom
00:58away from everyday pressures and expectations.
01:04I feel free.
01:06I don't need to shout or do anything like that.
01:09I'm simply confident.
01:12Ibra always tells me,
01:13don't look at your board,
01:15only look in the direction you're going.
01:17If I do it like this, I will succeed.
01:20Senegal's growing surfing scene
01:22is attracting international attention,
01:24with soft schools and camps emerging along the coast.
01:28For Samb, however, the ultimate measure of success
01:32will not simply be the number of children
01:35learning to surf, but how far they can go.
01:37My dream today is that one day I'll wake up
01:41and see these kids who have progressed alongside me
01:44have qualified for the world tour.
01:48The country's hosting of youth Olympic Games
01:52is also shining a spotlight on itself in potential,
01:55as the first Olympic event ever held on African soil
01:59brings global attention to Senegal.
02:01then it won't be seen in a great group.
02:01If I do the country's landing sometimes
02:03like this, it's the top Michael.
02:04I turned out in a great group,
