Photos by Inka Surf
Pan American Surfing Association (PASA) President, Karin Sierralta, was part of Desafío Lima, an activity focused in the promotion and development of Adapted Surfing in Peru, and organized by Teleton Peru Foundation.
“Desafio” is a part of the program Lazos, with the support of the Chilean Surfing Federation, which started last year in Spain and Portugal, and recently Chile and Argentina. This program has the creation of adapted surf programs in different countries around the world.
President Sierralta shared with young kids and adults the love for surfing during Desafio Lima, and from his experience he wrote the following essay.
Don’t dare to complain!
By Karin Sierralta
We always hear complaints, about money, work, position, love, friendship, politics or just because you like to complain.
After this past Saturday, I understood that we are very unfair for complaining about anything, that life is not only what surrounds you, your pains or frustrations, that we come to this world to consume, without stopping to see many people can’t even move without assistance or independently. 
I had the pleasure to meet kids with different physical limitations, but with a superior mind, soul and spirit that everyone who thinks is “normal” wishes to have.
Kids between 5 and 16 years old that were born with a limitation that might never be able to heal, that maybe they won’t ever be able to feel sand in their feet, or swim or just be able to move, even feed, without the assistance of other person.
For them those limitations are only physical, because their spirits and smiles made us understand that inside a small body you can find a great warrior, like the case of Angelito, who asked me to swim and submerge with him because he wanted to feel the sea in his face, because he can’t move by himself.
I did it and he asked me to do it many time more, laughing about something so common for us surfers, but so amazing for him and his family. His level of excitement was endless and his enthusiasm contagious.
We placed him in the surfboard and he rode a wave prone and ask for more and more, with non-stop laughs and a light in his face, yelling AGAIN, AGAIN, MORE, MORE!
He didn’t want to stop and even rode sitting down, supported only by his life vest, until he saw his older brothers laughing next to him, cheering and enjoying his achievement.
In that moment he stopped laughing and with a serious face he asked me to let his brothers use the board, because he wanted to SHARE with them his happiness.
Angelito is a warrior that taught us that the happy moments can only last a few seconds, but if you share them they can last forever.
He just didn’t wanted to show us that he dares to do the unimaginable, but also he wanted to share the moment with the ones he loves.
He taught us the true value of love. His mother on the shore didn’t stop crying of joy of seeing his little one surfing.
Never dare to complain! There are many others that have more reasons that you.
I want to thank Teleton Foundation for this opportunity, to Pablo Zamora for showing us a different world, to the NGO Tabra for their work, José Gómez and all the volunteers and friends who shared this beautiful moment that has to be repeated.
To our Peruvian warriors Pancho Arbulu and Gonzalito Torres who will compete for Peru in the ISA World Adapted Surfing Championship and that gave us a life lesson.
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