Our Story

The Sun Crew began as a community project in 2017. Local Siargao surfer Wemar Bonono and an Australian tourist decided to do something about the large number of children not attending school, often found sitting on the beach watching tourists surf.

The children's love of surfing was apparent and they decided to use surfboards as an incentive to get them to attend school. The Smart Sustainable Surfers program began!

As a team, they brought over more than 50 boards, donated by surfers in Australia, and within the first year of the program school attendance had improved by 100%. The Sun Crew was recognised as one of the best youth programs in the nation with a TAYO Award in 2018.

The Sun Crew became a registered charity in 2019 and has continued expanding its education programs since.

How it all started

The Sun Crew became a registered charity in 2019 and was certified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development in 2022. While empowerment through surfing remains a core part of our programs, we have developed a portfolio of high-impact academic programs that are having a major impact on the children of Siargao.

As part of our commitment to delivering locally-led initiatives, we partner with the Department of Education and Local Government Units where possible to support our programs.

We are committed to delivering high-impact data-driven education programs that provide tangible results for participants. By the end of our programs, children should demonstrate measurable improvements in the program’s focus area. We are proud to work with a team of local education leaders to ensure the quality and impact of our programs.

Building Brighter Futures

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Meet the Team

  • Wemar Bonono

    CO-FOUNDER & PRESIDENT

  • Alice Klarsfield

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  • Angela Virtudazo

    ADMIN & PROGRAM COORDINATOR

  • Clevient John Lasala

    READ SUMMER SCHOOL COORDINATOR

Rays of Change

Education

We believe access to effective education, backed by resources, is the key to empowering children to have brighter futures.

Empowerment

Empowering women and children with knowledge, skills, and opportunities is the best way to create effective, lasting change.

Sustainability

The ocean provides rural island communities with food, income and ultimately life and preserving the ocean is at the heart of Sun Crew's mission.