Senegal is seeing a small but hopeful change on the coast of Dakar, where about 20 girls from the fishing village of Xataxely have joined a new Surf Academy. The rule is simple: if they want to surf, they must also go to school.
Run by the US group Black Girls Surf, the four-month programme mixes lessons in the water with evening classes for girls who dropped out or never enrolled.
The girls largely come from Lebou households, traditional Wolof fishing communities native to Senegal’s Cap-Vert peninsula. After leaving school to help her family, 14-year-old Seynabou Tall is now studying again while riding the waves.
Boards and wetsuits are provided, days are spent surfing and exercising, evenings studying. For many, it is a first step toward education, confidence and new goals.