Elation x SurfAid: Giving Back to Indonesia
What has Indonesia given you?
Maybe it’s the wave you’ll still talk about years from now. The early morning paddle out, when the ocean is glassy. The local who remembers your name and invites you into their home. The smile from someone you pass on the street, or the kids who light up when they see you.
Maybe it’s the way Indonesia makes you feel, salt on your skin, warm air on your face, bare feet on the beach, and a little more freedom than you felt at home.
For me, Indonesia has given me so much. It’s where I’ve built a life, found community, fallen deeply in love with surfing, and experienced some of the most beautiful moments of my life. But more than anything, it’s the people I’ve met along the way who have made this island feel like home.
And that’s why SurfAid’s mission feels so close to my heart.
Six years ago, I met a girl named Laura on the beach in Coffs Harbour. I’d just moved there and was surfing by myself when she told me about SurfAid’s Make A Wave challenge. Surfing for 30 days sounded like a fun challenge, but it was the why that stayed with me. Since then, I’ve taken part in the Make A Wave challenge five times, three of those since becoming the owner of Elation.
SurfAid works alongside remote communities in Indonesia and other surfing regions to improve health, wellbeing and resilience, supporting access to things many of us can easily take for granted: healthcare, clean water, sanitation, nutritious food and the knowledge to create lasting change from within.
Because behind the waves we travel across the world to surf are families, children and communities who call these places home.
I think there’s something beautiful about that.
And this isn’t just about good intentions. The impact is tangible. In Rote, SurfAid supported families to establish 193 nutrition gardens, with almost 70% of households now maintaining their own gardens, up from just 30% when the program began. More than 1,300 community members have learned about balanced diets and improving protein consumption, while 357 local health workers and village volunteers have been trained to share that knowledge within their own communities.
Perhaps my favourite statistic? 80% of the community mobilisers trained by SurfAid are now training others.
Because that’s the kind of change I want to support, not something that simply arrives in a community, but something that grows there, is shared, and continues.
If we love these places so deeply, how can we help care for the people who make them what they are?
SurfAid’s Make A Wave challenge is happening again this September, and this year, I wanted Elation’s commitment to go beyond one month. We’re not just joining the challenge or making a donation, we’re making it an ongoing part of what we do.
That’s why I’m incredibly proud to share that Elation is partnering with SurfAid.
From now on, $1 from every Elation online sale will go directly to SurfAid.
Because the ocean connects us.
And perhaps one of the most meaningful ways we can honour that connection is by giving something back.
If Indonesia has given something to you, I hope you’ll consider giving something back, too.
Donate directly to our SurfAid Make A Wave team here
Interested in joining the Make A Wave challenge this September? Its not too late!
Join team Elation The Label Here.
Love always,
Mel xx
*All Imagery owned by SurfAid.
