Missionsurf aims to share the excitement of surfing with the local Mexico community and teach them about sea and beach safety, creating a conscience amongst the community about the ecological importance of our environment, particularly our beaches and oceans. The surf school offers surf instruction to the local community as well surf equipment and merchandise.



As well as engaging the community, the proposed amenities will provide work and training opportunities for Misión México youth and provide a source of revenue for the refuge.

Misión México provides a loving, secure home for children of all ages who have been abused, neglected, orphaned or abandoned, and mostly from backgrounds of extreme poverty. The number of children in their care changes constantly but on average they care for between 40 and 50 children on a permanent basis.



Almost all of the children have suffered extreme poverty and abuse. Some have experienced unspeakable violence.

Amongst the enormous daily challenges to stay afloat and knowing that the children, who have suffered terribly, need different outlets to help rebuild their confidence and their general trust in the world, the founders and directors of Misión México, Alan and Pam, decided to apply their combined skills to teach the children water safety, swimming, and of course – surfing!!

Surfing began in 2003 when a couple of 'nipper' rescue boards and rescue tubes were donated by the Sunshine Beach Surf Life Saving Club and the children were given lessons by Alan and two of his sons, Rohan and Aaron Skuse. In 2004 the surfing really surged when a couple of volunteers kindly donated their time to teach the children. Alan then began serious surf lessons with the boards the volunteers had organized for the children.

Supporting Misión México's children in surfing is a means of restoring their self esteem and hope for all the possibilities that life has to offer them. The children love surfing and recognise the impact it has on their lives.

Beach/swimming/surf education is minimal in Mexican communities, and initially when Pam and Alan arrived, the children at Misión México didn’t know how to swim. With Alan and Pam’s inherent knowledge of living at the beach, they taught, and continue to teach, the children to swim and surf. The beaches in Tapachula are not considered ‘pretty’, with dark sand and murky water, in actual fact no-one else surfs there. There are no life guards at the beach in Tapachula, and it’s not uncommon to see the children from Misión México rescuing people from the water.

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In addition to helping in the establishment of a surf program at Misión México, the Norm Innes Foundation provided an educational scholarship in Business Management and Surfing Studies to Misión México’s Moacir Zeledon Palacios. With the additional support from Guzman y Gomez, one of Misión México's long term supporters, Moacir completed his Diploma in 2010 and is now working hard with Pam and Alan to establish Missionsurf.