Moon Rocks Magic Bus, how a group of people set out to make a difference.

Recently Moon Rocks had the chance to collaborate with the Harapan Project in a really special way - with the idea being to provide the Harapan Project with a vehicle for their daily tasks. The Harapan Project is a remarkable charity helping children on the island of Sumbawa; children who's lives were ravaged after tsumanis.  

Between many generous and kind people we raised enough money to buy the van which Moon Rocks converted into the Moon Rocks Magic Bus. Then the most beautiful part of this idea was giving the Moon Rocks Magic Bus to the founder Carlos Ferrandis and all the kids waiting for us there at Huús, Sumbawa.

It took us three days to get there, driving all the way from Bali to east Sumbawa. The plan was to tie the trip in with something else we are really passionate about surfing!

From Bali we took a ferry to Lombok were we surfed Sengigi, a beautiful long left hander. Then we drove all across Lombok to get another ferry to West Sumbawa. West sumbawa has an amazing coast full of beautiful beaches and amazing waves. I´m not going to name my favourite spot there but is a very hollow left hander that rolls peeling the reef for 200 meters. We stayed at a house at the hill in front of the peak and the view was simply stunning. There was a big swell coming so the next morning we were so excited about the view...the waves were big and pumping, we jumped into the Moon Rocks Magic Bus to go to the beach.

We had amazing barrels and no crowds, it was such a great surf... 

I was surfing with the water camera to get some videos for the documentary of the trip and we got amazing water shots but in my last wave, I didn't make the barrel and ended up too deep trying to film and the fin of my board hit me...four stitches later and a big cut in my forehead!

That was the end of my surfing during the trip but it didn't really impact the trip because the goal was something else, the goal was getting to Huú in Sumbawa. To see all those kids and Carlos smiling and jumping like crazy into the van. So we took the road again, this time to make a long 13 hours drive across Sumbawa from the west to east.  

The Harapan Project family is located close to Lakey Peak, another great surf spot! When we arrived there, a dream / a vision, became reality with many children, Carlos and his girlfriend (and also collaborator) Barbara running to greet us. It was such an special moment, for sure the highlights of the trip.

It didn't take long for the magic bus to hit the road again - we went to the different villages of the area and spreading the magic of the bus, picking up kids at different villages, you wouldn't believe how many kids jumped into the van...at one point there were 39 kids in the van, all singing and yelling super excited because this was the first time they didn't have to walk an hour to get to the school. 

We arrived to the school and Carlos gave them some english lessons (lucky there is Carlos there because most of the time the local teachers don't show up! It was so good to see how interested these kids were, they were all listening and repeating Carlos words. I felt really good again for being part of that vision and all the good vibes! Then Carlos ended the class with some outdoor games - these children don't have much but really know how to enjoy a simple game, all running around with huge smiles. I was thinking about my baby son, I hope I can raise him enjoying nature and his friends and not just playing with computer games! 

The Magic Bus will also be used to transport children to the hospital when they are sick or have an aliment. We drove early morning to the hospital - I have to say that this particular day the waves at Lakey were amazing but again but I didn't care. I had something much more special and important to do! We took two children there, one had a serious burn on his feet and a girl who had a serious problem in her spine (she is six years old and unable to walk or talk). 

The trip we had was long but filled with so much joy and good vibes. We really enjoyed helping the Harapan Project, helping the children and Carlos. This made a difference for the children and also for our souls, we can´t wait to do something similar again! Big love and thanks to all those who donated or brought a Harapan Moon Rocks t-shirt, we couldn't have done it without your generosity!