You call it skateboarding, these children call it Freedom – A story from Afghanistan

Image courtesy: facebook.com/skateistan

Skateboarding is still relatively uncharted territory in most of India, and is limited to a few of the larger cities in this country. But surprisingly, in Afghanistan, it is now quite common to see young boys and many girls skateboarding in the streets.

If you’re wondering how Afghanistan – a country that has been in the news for oppressing women – is allowing girls to skateboard, “That’s because skateboarding was not known to the extremists and that’s why they didn’t even make a law on it. So girls are not allowed to drive, but can skateboard. It may be called a loophole, but we called it opportunity,” says Oliver Percovich, the founder of Skateistan.

Image courtesy: facebook.com/skateistan

Oliver Percovich, an Australian national, arrived in Kabul in 2007. Watching him skateboard on the streets of Kabul, the children were enchanted and many wanted to give it shot. Through constant conversations with the children, he realised that skateboarding could be used as a medium to engage and build community.  In 2009, Skateistan was officially registered as an NGO, and in the same year Afghanistan got its first skate park.

Today, skateboarding has become a channel for reaching out to young people with whom it would not otherwise have been easy to freely communicate. Skateistan’s development aid programs work with growing numbers of marginalised youth through skateboarding, and the NGO provides them with new opportunities for cross-cultural interaction with education and personal empowerment programs.

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Image courtesy: facebook.com/skateistan

Making change happen through Skateboarding

Children in Afghanistan have been through decades of conflict, social dislocation and poverty. Skateboarding is something that lets kids just be kids. Skateboarding is still a new and unique activity in all the places Skateistan operates.

Skateistan believes that when youth come together to skateboard and play, they forge bonds that transcend social and cultural barriers. Girls can take part in this sport safely in Afghanistan, and children from very different backgrounds, including disabled children, can play together and become friends.

Image courtesy: facebook.com/skateistan
Image courtesy: facebook.com/skateistan

Earning acceptance from the community

It wasn’t easy to introduce a new sport to Afghanistan, and in the early days of the project, Skateistan volunteers met many stakeholders, including community and religious leaders, to get public support for the project. This helped them gain acceptance and also helped them understand the local sensitivities. This has now become a model that the team uses for all Skateistan locations.

Skateistan makes enormous efforts to ensure that their programming is safe and culturally appropriate. For girls in Afghanistan, this is especially important, so the boys’ and girls’ classes happen on different days of the week, with all-female teachers for the girls. Skateistan also has a dedicated support officer who meets students’ families regularly and strengthens the bond.

Image courtesy: facebook.com/skateistan
Image courtesy: facebook.com/skateistan

Even the President of Afghanistan has nothing but praises for Skateistan

It was an incredible moment for Skateistan last month, when the President of Afghanistan mentioned Skateistan in his speech to Congress!

“The opportunities for women are indeed changing. I’m sure that many of you have seen those stunning Skateistan videos of others proudly taking their shiny eyed daughters to show off their new found skills in the ancient art of skateboarding. They are but the tip of the changes that are under way and which must be protected in advance.” – Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan.

Image courtesy: facebook.com/skateistan

And, last year in Cambodia, skateboarding was recognized by the National Olympic Committee (NOCC) as an official sport!

Image courtesy: facebook.com/skateistan

Skateboarding and beyond

Skateistan teaches young people between the ages of 5 and 18 years. In the regular weekly program, students are in the skate park for one hour and the classroom for another hour with an arts-based education program. The NGO’s ‘Back to School’ program prepares students for enrollment in public schools.

Image courtesy: facebook.com/skateistan
Image courtesy: facebook.com/skateistan

Skateistan reaches out to more children

Skateistan has expanded its skateboard-based development activities to include full-time programming for marginalized Cambodian youth in Phnom Penh, a state-of-the-art learning/skateboarding centre in Mazar-e-Sharif, Northern Afghanistan, and a project for youth in Johannesburg, South Africa. In these developing countries with large young populations, there are very few opportunities for youth, especially girls.

Image courtesy: facebook.com/skateistan
Image courtesy: facebook.com/skateistan

The impact so far

Since 2007, Skateistan’s programs have impacted over 2500 youth and over 55 students have become peer-to-peer teachers at Skateistan. Skateistan also works with over 1000 young people worldwide per week.

Many enthusiastic and talented students begin as volunteers and become youth leaders within the organization, learning important life skills for the future. Most of the professionally trained skate and classroom teachers are previous students and youth leaders.

Image courtesy: facebook.com/skateistan
Image courtesy: facebook.com/skateistan

Rolling into the future

The team is focusing on building a new Skateistan skate school in South Africa. However, as a long-term goal, Skateistan plans to improve the quality and reach of their projects to change more lives through skateboarding.  The team hopes to work towards having each Skateistan location eventually run entirely by local talent, already the case in Kabul. These young people will build Skateistan’s future, and in doing so, will strengthen their local communities.

The team also hopes to increase the legitimacy of skateboarding as a tool for youth development through joint research and advocacy.

Image courtesy: facebook.com/skateistan

Here’s a story that tells us that you will find a way even in the most challenging situations. All you need is the conviction to bring change and a skateboard!

Listen to this inspiring story about Skateistan from the founder himself: