Since meeting and surfing with Tiffany one day in October of 2014, I had made the decision to go and visit her and her family one day in Sri Lanka!  Finally, 4 years later, my husband and I went, and needless to say, it was a really special time, and Sri Lanka is a special place!  It was so amazing to be there with Cody and Tiff and get to be a part of everything that is happening in Sri Lanka with Girls Make Waves.  As I was there, ad reflecting on that time, I thought about all of the amazing girls around us in Wahiawa, on the Island of Oahu, and I began to dream a bit of starting GMW in Hawaii one day.

 

When Tiffany was visiting here in Summer of 2019, we started talking more seriously about what that would look like, and Tiffany asked if I would be willing to lead the program here in Hawaii!  

 

With lots of helping hands involved, we had our first Girls Make Waves Hawaii on June 3rd, 2019, with 5 girls, ages 9-16!  It was a fun day, with every girl catching a ton of waves and having so much fun! We've now had up to 13 girls, ages 9-18 surfing, so far, with high hopes of more coming! It has been so fun to see everyone catching waves, sometimes for the first time, and to see everyone having fun and cheering for each other!  Some are even learning to surf on their own already! 

 

My hope for Girls Make Waves here in Hawaii is to encourage young women here to dream big!  And to know that they can accomplish anything they are willing to put time and effort in to.  I'm excited at the opportunity to share the stoke of surfing and the joy that it brings to catch a wave and be in the Ocean!  We can all imagine paddling through water, feeling the power of the wave, and standing up to cruise a long the face of the wave, some of us hanging 5, while others doing massive turns or tucking into a barrel.  I want these girls to make these dreams and thoughts become reality, so that surfing can be a positive part of their lives into adulthood and beyond!

 

Aloha!

 

Sierra