A group of surfers from the South Coast and Canberra area have delivered a bag full of sporting equipment to a remote village in the Mentawai Islands in Indonesia.
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The equipment consisted of sporting balls, which include soccer, volleyball, basketball and rugby balls, were gathering dust in a locker at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.
Pat Callahan who works for the AIS decided the balls would make a big difference in the lives of the kids in the village of Toloulaggok on Siburat Island.
Pat is the father of Adam Callahan, who together with his partner Jen Kuhn have managed the Pitstop Hill surf camp in the Mentawai for the last two surf seasons.
Going along for this latest 10-day surf trip was Pat, his brother Dennis and also Greg Willis of Narooma, and some other family friends from Gerringong, all old time surfers from way back.
Greg said the village kids were most grateful for the delivery of sporting balls, which were simply inflated with air and donated to the local school, being equivalent to a year’s supply of sports equipment for them
“They were more than grateful, holding our hands and dancing, they were so stoked when we visited the village,” Greg said. “They did a dance and sang for us at the village school.”
Adam said the kitchen girls at Pitstop Hill are from Toloulaggok village, so they have a strong connection with the place.
“We love taking our guests there so they can gain a greater understanding of the real Mentawai, outside the surf tourism industry here,” Adam said.
“Lots of surfers come and ride the waves but miss out on what we call the ‘real Mentawai’, which is inside the villages and small communities of local fisherman and coconut farmers who have lived here for hundreds of years.”