A community surf and skate collective in the sleepy fishing village of Busua is training the next generation of competitive wave riders and surf tourism entrepreneurs.
By Monique Mitchell
The warmth of the water at Busua Beach welcomes you like a waiting mother. The crashing of waves pales in comparison to the thunderous laughter of children in sandals who have mastered the art of presence. This water gives you new life. Makes you whole. Reminds you that the present is where miracles occur.Much like the one that led to my return to Ghana. I had no intention of moving back to Los Angeles. I loved Ghana. I had moved there at the end of 2019 because I wanted a break from America. At the time, I didn’t know anyone from the country, but found my people along the way. One of them was Sandy Alibo, founder of Surf Ghana, a surf and skate collective in the fishing village of Busua. Last year, on the set of Faherty’s spring 2024 campaign shoot, Mike Faherty overheard me talking about Ghana’s incredible surf community. He said it was his dream to do a shoot there. That dream was realized and the images are on the following pages, along with the story behind Surf Ghana’s mission.
Alibo was born on the island of Martinique and founded Surf Ghana in 2016 as a reclamation of West-African surf culture. It has since grown into an international phenomenon, expanding into a skate collective with several co-working hubs across the country. What began as an expression of Black Joy has grown into a social, educational, and economic empowerment movement.
Sankofa Surf Club, Surf Ghana’s latest initiative in collaboration with Paddle Paddle Surf Project, provides surf instructions for Busua’s 18 and under community. Beyond inspiring a culture of athleticism and well-being, the club provides excursions and scholarships for the children of this rural fishing town located six hours from Ghana’s capital, Accra.
These experiences not only expand these young minds by opening their eyes to the world, they also nurture their self-esteem by showing them that they are worthy of expanding beyond home; trusting that home will always welcome them with open arms when they return.
In Twi, one of the local Ghanaian languages, Sankofa means “Go back and get it.” There is a proverb that states, “It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten.” I’ve always understood this to mean we should reclaim the wisdom of our ancestors. But now, I also see it as an invitation to reclaim ourselves. The person we were before we got distracted with the daily ritual of life. The person who always had their eyes and ears open, waiting for a miracle.
The West-African ocean knows its children by name. And it calls them home. You hear it when you’re rooted deeply in the present Are you listening? One day, everything we hold dear will vanish. But the ocean, which carries our stories, will remain. What will your story be?
Monique Mitchell is an internationally-acclaimed poet and creative strategist whose work has been featured by The New York Times, A24, and commissioned for the 2024/2028 Cultural Olympiad. She has led global campaigns for brands like Puma and Lexus and helped secure $50 million for arts education through California Senate Bill 933. Monique served as memoirist to Ghanaian presidential candidate Nana Kwame Bediako.
