To the 3,000 surfers who visit each year, the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia are a paradise on earth - palm-fringed beaches, cheap food, and some of the best waves on the planet.
But scratch beneath the surface and the reality is very different. Malaria is rampant, medical services are almost non-existent, and child mortality rates are as high as 50 per cent.
So stark is the contrast that two years ago New Zealand surfers Andrew Griffiths and David Jenkins set up Surf-Aid International, a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving health conditions in the archipelago, which lies off the west coast of Sumatra.
'Surfers are going to the islands and spending A$550 [HK$2,230] a day on luxury trips and yet 100 metres away you have villages where 80 per cent of families have lost at least one child to disease,' said director Mr Griffiths, 31, a former investment banker in London.
Last week the fledgling charity received a welcome boost when a major Australian non-governmental organisation, Care Australia, agreed to help with fund-raising.
Until now Surf-Aid International has relied on donations from individuals and corporate sponsors, including surfing clothing company Rip Curl and the guidebook publishers Lonely Planet. Last year they raised A$160,000.