Christine Kueneke is an avid surfer and resides in California.
Here’s her “why” for building this beautiful surfboard for O&AA.
(In 2022, Christine custom built a beautiful surfboard to raise funds to help transfer eleven elephants in KwaZulu Natal to a safe game reserve. We raised $6,500 to go towards the relocation which is schedule for March 2023. We’ll bring you footage of the move as soon as we receive it from our friends at Manyoni Private Game Reserve and Zululand Conservation Trust who received the funds!)
“For me, like many people, the last few years were very tough.
This elephant board and 6 others are a few of the amazing things that came out of that tough time for me. I am an avid surfer and worked in the surf industry for a few years. While I’m not a professional surfboard hand shaper, I applied all my knowledge and love for technology into making this surfboard.
Surfing, running, and building things is how I relax and process life. Processing is how this surfboard’s story started and how I selected the image.
A few of the things I’ve learned about elephants are:
They are loyal.
They have strong social bonds in their herds.
They protect their injured and weak.
They teach and discipline their young.
They are fierce but also quiet.
They are majestic.
Sadly, they are disappearing.
I looked at hundreds of images and just kept coming back to this one. It reminded me of myself. Almost 54, taking a different road and being scared but looking back at my herd while they told me to just keep going.
It also reminded me of watching my child navigating growing up and heading down her own path (she wrote and performed the song playing in the video where I make the surfboard!).
I am so grateful to have had the same herd for decades. I might not see them for months or even years, but that bond is always there.
Building surfboards is truly an amazing process, but it is not easy. It takes patience and lots of time. It is a dirty job but when you finally see the images or colors at the final stages, it is so rewarding. I did my best to make this board beautiful, strong and something I am proud of - that I can donate to Over and Above Africa confident that whoever wins it will appreciate its uniqueness, as I do.
I made this board for one of my very dear friends, Kerry David. She has been in my herd for over 25 years. She is a true animal activist and the Founder and CEO of Over and Above Africa. In pursuit of the truth behind poaching she directed and produced a now multiple award-winning documentary called, Breaking Their Silence: Women on the Frontline of the Poaching War.
She and these women are truly amazing. ”