When we first mentioned Skateistan on our website back in June of 2008 it was just three Australian skateboarders who wanted to help improve he lives of Afghanistan’s children by teaching them to skateboard in an empty Kabul fountain. Since then Skateistan has grown to become an international organization (NGO) with a large indoor skateboard park in Kabul, an award winning documentary film, and a school with nearly 300 Afghan kids (boys and girls) enrolled.
Dvidshub.com checked in with Skateistan recently to cover a skateboard donation by members of the International Security Assistance Force and delivered a story of hope through skateboarding from one of the roughest cities in the world.
“From the very start, kids from many different ethnic and social backgrounds were being brought together through skateboarding, and Oliver had the idea to create a school where education was offered alongside skateboard lessons, with the hope that trust-building and self-confidence would be the result,” Percovich said. . . “It was the motivation from the kids that got Oliver thinking about doing something on a larger scale with skateboarding, through using the activity to bring kids from all different backgrounds together and provide interactive education that would build a mini-community for youth in Kabul,” Bader said. “Those initial skate sessions were the foundations for Skateistan.”
Click here for more coverage on Boardistan or the link below for the rest of the Story.
[Link: Dvidshub.com]
