Afghanistan

Skateistan students Skate Beyond Borders

alyssa — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 15:47:04 +0000

Skateistan students Skate Beyond Borders alyssa Wed, 11/09/2022 - 16:47

Wed, 11/09/2022 - 12:00

At Skateistan, our students inspire others and their wider communities. Our aim is to provide safe spaces for them to build a better future in which they can thrive.

Skateistan students Skate Beyond Borders.

Whether it is covid-19, a refugee crisis, or displacement from climate change, children bear the brunt of global catastrophes. Not every child gets to enjoy a full childhood, and Skateistan provides a place of safety at a very crucial time in their lives. In our latest fundraising campaign, we aim to raise a funding gap of $1.3 million by December 31 to continue expanding to new communities and providing safe spaces for children to grow and be themselves.

No matter whether it's with refugee children in Europe and the Middle East, children living with disabilities in Asia, with community groups accessing safe spaces in Latin America or at our Skate Schools in inner city South Africa, we support children to dream, play, skate and realize their full potential.

At Skateistan, our students Skate Beyond Borders.

At Skateistan, our students inspire others and their wider communities. Our aim is to provide safe spaces for them to build a better future in which they can thrive.

In August 2021, Skateistan started ‘A New Chapter’ to rebuild in Afghanistan and expand our programs to reach more children, faster. Since then, we’ve planted roots in new locations and have grown our skateboarding community to support refugee children in Lebanon, Iraq, Albania, Brussels, and Berlin with trusted adults, creative education, and safe spaces to learn and skate.

We’re rebuilding in Afghanistan. Hundreds of children participate in our signature Back-to-School program to help out-of-school children re-enter the public education system. Back-to-School students are generally from different ethnic, social, economic, and geographical backgrounds; and we prioritize girls only classes across all three locations. The students are 10 to 16 years old.

We’re so excited that we’ve met our goal for 2022! In October 2022 we officially hit our target to reach 4,500 students every week in our skateboarding and creative education programs around the world. We're now running Skateistan programs in Afghanistan, Cambodia, South Africa, Bolivia, Albania, Kenya, Belgium, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq.

Our students inspire others and their wider communities. Our aim is to provide safe spaces for them to build a better future in which they can thrive.

As we continue to reach more children in communities all over the world, we need your support to keep Skateistan rolling.

How can you help?

There are lots of ways that you can support Skateistan's latest fundraising campaign.

You can support our latest fundraising campaign ‘Skate Beyond Borders’ right now!

You can also share our campaign with your friends and family through social media.

Why not host your own fundraiser? It’s super easy to ‘add fundraiser’ on Instagram and Facebook. Contact us if you’d like help to get started.

Every week we will focus on a different student that has been impacted by Skateistan programs. Watch this space for updates!

Yes

A New Chapter - where are we now?

alyssa — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 11:28:25 +0000

A New Chapter - where are we now? alyssa Thu, 04/28/2022 - 13:28

Thu, 04/28/2022 - 12:00

In November of last year, we launched A New Chapter, a fundraising campaign with the goal of raising $1.5 million by spring this year, with the aim to work in 20 locations, and reach 4,500 students every week by the end of 2022.

In August 2021, we suspended our programs in Afghanistan for the first time since 2009, when we opened the doors of our Skate School in Kabul. For over a decade, thousands of children in Afghanistan had found a safe space at Skateistan, where they could play, learn and dream. We said right from the start that we were committed long-term to the children of Afghanistan and that as soon as it was safe to do so, we would aim to restart our programs.

The crisis in Afghanistan led us to rethink our strategy. We always intended to increase the number of our Skate Schools but we had to think differently about how we can be more agile and reach more children, faster. In November of last year, we launched A New Chapter, a fundraising campaign with the goal of raising $1.5 million by spring this year, with the aim to work in 20 locations, and reach 4,500 students every week by the end of 2022.

As April 2022 kicks off, we are delighted to let you know that we are now working in 15+ locations around the world, and we reach up to 3,300 students every week. We’re well on our way to reach our goal and we want to sincerely thank you, our supporters, for helping us to get there.

Read on to see how we’re progressing against these goals.

Where are we now?

Running in-person programming in Afghanistan

We are so excited to be able to run in person programs in Afghanistan again. Skateistan students are attending the Back-to-School (BTS) program, which partners with schools and services to align our students with their national curriculums. Since January we have run our food distribution program and also delivered our Skate and Create program session remotely. But there is no substitute for real contact with our students and we are so happy to be back in the classroom with them.

We are now reaching up to 400 students per week through our BTS program in Afghanistan, and we are currently running Skate and Create sessions remotely for students, reaching up to 600 students per week in attendance.

Refugee Programs

We now have Skateistan programs running in refugee camps and resettlement locations. In Rochester, NY we have been working with the amazing Friends of ROC City Skatepark. They run a program called Rolling Rochester Resettlement Project which is aimed at supporting refugees through skateboarding. At the end of February we held a demo event to encourage children to sign up and now we’re able to get started with our Skate and Create program. Our Educators there (Zainab, Belqisa, Farzad and Sohaib) are all Afghan staff who want to continue using what they learned at Skateistan to empower others.

Two of our Youth Leaders, Saeeda and Marzia, went to Albania as Kabul fell. They expressed their desire to start some skate programs there and worked with our team to get things off the ground. Dr Nida Ahmad, a Researcher and Executive Board Member of the Muslim Women in Sport Network, has been incredibly helpful in supporting our Educators and helping to smooth the process so we can start programs. Skate gear arrived from our Berlin HQ in March and now these inspiring girls are now running Skate and Create three times a week.

Lastly, we're so happy to tell you about our work in Belgium. Belgium welcomed a significant number of Afghan refugees and has several camps around the country. Although we don’t have staff there to run programs, we have been so happy to link up with Fedasil and Kapow, two incredible partners who are helping us to implement programs in two refugee camps (Koksijde and Ghent). Both camps ran demonstration days in late February and are now running Skate and Create sessions weekly for both younger and older students.

We are reaching up to 300 children so far across all of our refugee program locations in Rochester, Albania, and Belgium.

Expansion locations

In Skateistan’s new chapter, we planted roots in new locations around the world to grow our skateboarding community. With our partners, we’re running Skate and Create for new students in Jordan, Bolivia, Kenya, South Africa, and Lebanon. These sessions focus on girls’ inclusion, empowerment and integration between different communities.

Jordan

In Jordan we are partnering with 7Hills Skatepark, who already run amazing skate programs in Amman. Together, we’re running Skate and Create for new students, who are a mix of Jordanian children and children with a refugee background, in Zarqa and Irbid.

Bolivia

In Bolivia, we’re proud to be working with Ayni Skate Project to run Skateistan programs in La Paz, and La Viacha, Bolivia. Using the Pura Pura skatepark (built by Make Life, Skate Life) we are running Skate and Create sessions and Youth Leadership, which focus on creativity and inclusion. In Bolivia with Ayni Skate Project, over 50% of students who have joined the program are girls, a product of employing many female educators in programs and skate sessions. Together through our programs, and with our focus on inclusion, we provide a safe space where girls can express themselves and follow their dreams.

Kenya

We’ve started working in partnership with Project Elimu, which runs dance and educational programs in Kibera, Nairobi. Now the project is also offering Skateistan’s Skate and Create program, to encourage children to skate, learn and explore their role in their community.

South Africa (Atlantis)

Skateistan South Africa has now expanded from its base in Johannesburg to the Western Cape. In partnership with local schools, we are now running our Skate and Create program for over 100 children in Atlantis. This provides a space where children can enjoy skateboarding and creative sessions safely, with adults they can trust and look up to.

Lebanon

Emphasizing on early education in order to facilitate and ease entering school, Skateistan partnered with Just Childhood, who are based in Beirut, Lebanon. We are now running our signature Skate and Create program there together. The majority of our students in Beirut, Lebanon are Syrian refugees, and currently up to 100 children attend our programs together with Just Childhood.

See how we’re progressing against these goals - check out our new locations map.

Thanks to your support, Skateistan is writing a new chapter in Albania, Jordan, Lebanon, Atlantis, and Kenya. There are children all over the world who need safe spaces to skate, dream, and learn. With our focus on girls' inclusion, empowerment and integration between different communities, we are connecting more children with opportunities to make them leaders for a better world.

Support Skateistan’s new chapter by making a donation today at https://www.skateistan.org/a-new-chapter.

Yes

A New Chapter in Afghanistan

jess — Tue, 11 Jan 2022 09:33:47 +0000

A New Chapter in Afghanistan jess Tue, 01/11/2022 - 10:33

Tue, 01/11/2022 - 12:00

As many of you will know, last year we suspended our programs in Afghanistan as the security situation changed. We are so happy to let you know that we have recently restarted our programs in Afghanistan!

As many of you will know, last year we suspended our programs in Afghanistan as the security situation changed. We said right from the start that we were committed long-term to the children of Afghanistan and that as soon as it was safe to do so, we would aim to restart our programs.

As 2022 kicks off, we are delighted to let you know that we have now begun to run programs once again in Afghanistan. Over the last few months, the needs of the community have changed. Around 90% of Afghans currently face food insecurity and many, many more children are now out of school than before. For these reasons, we have adapted our programs to meet the current needs of our students and their families.

Our first project is food distribution. The country is facing an uncertain future as the large amounts of international aid that supported the economy have largely dried up. This is affecting Afghan families on a daily basis and many of our students and their families are lacking food. So far we have distributed over 850 food parcels to our students’ families, each one containing enough food for a month for an average-sized family. We hope to increase this to reach 1000 families in the next few weeks. We're also supplying families with fuel packages as the winter months are very tough. The food parcels include flour, peas, rice and oil. This is not entirely new to Skateistan - during the covid lockdowns in Afghanistan and South Africa, we also began distributing food and our Back-to-School students have always received a hot meal as part of the program. Equally in South Africa we are currently running a nutrition program, which provides kids with a healthy meal before they start skating. It’s all about listening to what our community tells us they need and responding in the best way we can.

We have also begun to run our Back-to-School program once again in Afghanistan. Back-to-School is for children who are out of formal education and has always been a chance for children to enter or re-enter formal schooling. There are many uncertainties at the moment in Afghanistan as to who will be allowed to complete their schooling and many children have been displaced from their home towns by the upheaval in the summer months last year. So there are many children who need this chance at education, as well as the structure and focus that daily lessons can bring in uncertain times. At the moment, we are running this program remotely for girls and boys. We hope to be able to begin running in-person classes very soon.

We promised that we would not turn our backs on the children of Afghanistan. We’ve been working constantly to be in a position where we can once again offer some level of support to our communities and let our students know that they have not been forgotten in the chaos and confusion of last year’s events. We couldn’t have done this without the incredible support of our global community, who have stood by us and put faith in us to keep going. From the bottom of our hearts, we’d like to thank each and every person who has continued to support us in these extremely difficult times. With your help, we can continue to grow our programs in Afghanistan and around the world.

The Skateistan story has changed, but it will carry on. Can you help us to write the next chapter? Donate today.

Yes

A new chapter for Skateistan

jess — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 14:12:07 +0000

A new chapter for Skateistan jess Wed, 11/17/2021 - 15:12

Wed, 11/17/2021 - 12:00

Skateistan is embarking on a new chapter. One which will see us expand around the world to reach thousands more children. Find out how the Skateistan story continues.

A crisis in Afghanistan

In August 2021, we suspended our programs in Afghanistan for the first time since 2009, when we first opened the doors of our Skate School in Kabul. For over a decade, thousands of children in Afghanistan had found a safe space at Skateistan, where they could play, learn and dream. Now our future in Afghanistan is uncertain. Many of our staff have fled the country, but we’re determined that we’ll keep supporting the children of Afghanistan in any way that we can. We hope to restart programs there soon, but for now, that chapter of our story remains unwritten.

A New Chapter

The crisis in Afghanistan and the suspension of our programs forced us to rethink our model. We want to be able to reach as many children as we can, and we know there is a need for our programs all over the world. So now we’re embarking on a new chapter. This new chapter will see us expand rapidly, to 20 locations by the end of 2022. We aim to reach 4,500 students each week by the end of next year. We’ll do this by working in partnership with other organizations, by experimenting with different types of programming and always striving to reach children who are often forgotten and left behind.

We’ve already begun!

It sounds ambitious, but we’ve never been scared of a challenge. And the great news is, we’ve already begun! In just the last few months, we have already started working in Jordan, Bolivia, Atlantis (Western Cape, South Africa) and Kenya, in addition to our long-standing Skate Schools in Cambodia and Johannesburg.

In Jordan, Bolivia and Kenya we have three amazing new partners, who are now running Skateistan programs (7Hills Skatepark, Ayni Skate Project and Project Elimu respectively). This new model of working together with other organizations means we can expand our programs faster, while benefiting from the expertise and experience of these incredible organizations. Check them out!

In Atlantis, we are running programs in public schools as an expansion of our South Africa Skate School. It’s amazing to see so many children enjoying a completely new activity.

How can you help?

There are lots of ways that you can help Skateistan to write the next chapter of our story.

You can support ‘A New Chapter’ right now!

You can also share our campaign with your friends and family through social media.

Why not host your own fundraiser? It’s super easy to ‘add fundraiser’ on Instagram and Facebook. Contact us if you’d like help to get started!

And lastly, watch this space! We will keep bringing you updates on the campaign and the exciting developments at our new expansion locations. And when we have news from Afghanistan, we’ll be sure to share it here.

Yes

What happened in Afghanistan?

jess — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 10:02:43 +0000

What happened in Afghanistan? jess Tue, 10/12/2021 - 12:02

Tue, 10/12/2021 - 12:00

In August 2021 we suspended our Afghan programs due to instability in the country. Where are we now?

Afghanistan

In August 2021, the world watched as the government in Afghanistan fell. The country is now under a new regime and facing an uncertain future.

Until the start of August this year, Skateistan had been running programs in three cities in Afghanistan. As things started to change ever more quickly, we felt that the safest thing to do for our staff and students was to suspend our programs until things became a little clearer.

Many of you will have seen the scenes at Kabul airport as many Afghans tried to flee the country. At Skateistan, we wanted to support our staff to do whatever they felt was best for themselves and their families. These were hard choices to make. For those who felt they should leave, we supported their visa applications and did everything we could to facilitate their entry to the airport during the evacuation window. More than two thirds of our Afghan staff team, along with their family members, have left the country. We continue to support them to settle into their new lives around the world.

For those of you who know us well, you’ll know that Skateistan was founded in Afghanistan, on the streets of Kabul back in 2008. Afghanistan is in our DNA and our commitment to the children of the country has not changed. We hope we will be able to work again in Afghanistan, although we don’t yet know what sort of programs we’ll be able to run. Those staff members who chose to stay in Afghanistan remain employed by Skateistan and we hope they can be part of our future there.

Now it’s time for us to work out our next steps. We have the skills, the energy and the capacity to empower thousands of children through skateboarding and education. The crisis in Afghanistan has made us think about our model and how we can keep innovating so that as many children as possible can benefit from our creative programs. We’re excited to keep you updated about the new directions that Skateistan can take over the next few months.

Many of you reached out to us, in one of the hardest times we’ve ever faced, to tell us you were thinking of us. We have the best supporters in the world and we know that we can learn from the last few months and keep on growing. We hope that you’ll join us on this journey as we start to write the next chapter of our story.

Together, we can Keep Skateistan Rolling.

If you'd like to support our efforts to rebuild our community in Afghanistan, and to expand our programs around the world, you can donate here.

Yes

We exceeded our global girls participation goal three months in a row!

alyssa — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 11:14:45 +0000

We exceeded our global girls participation goal three months in a row! alyssa Fri, 03/05/2021 - 12:14

Fri, 03/05/2021 - 12:00

Around half our students are girls and we strive every day to keep this at 50% or even higher.

At Skateistan, it’s always been our priority to include and encourage girls. Through skateboarding and creative education, girls at Skateistan find a way to explore their interests, develop their skills and defy society's expectations.

It’s more important than ever to ensure our students continue to have access to safe learning environments, and our staff at our Skate Schools around the world are working hard to ensure this can happen. In January, our average student weekly attendance was 2,031 with a record high of 56% girls participation. January was the third month in a row that we have exceeded our global girls participation goal, and this really comes down to the incredible hard work of our staff in each Skate School.

Around half our students are girls and we strive every day to keep this at 50% or even higher. Covid-19 has disproportionately affected some groups more than others, and girls all over the world are no exception. Girls continue to face issues related to accessing safe learning environments, and while stuck at home in lockdown, girls are now taking on more of the household chores, they’re more at risk from violence due to increased stress at home, and less likely to return to school once restrictions are lifted.

We caught up with our program officers at a few of our Skate Schools to talk about why girls participation is so important, as well as learn some of the things they do to achieve a rate of 50% girls participation or higher.

We asked our Programs Officer in Mazar-e-Sharif, Noorzai, about why it’s so important to include girls and strive for 50% girls participation.

“So it means that Skateistan is a place where students are learning equality! As most people in Afghanistan are living traditionally they don’t believe that the girls and boys have equal chances to enhance their ability in different aspects including education to make their future brighter. And in Afghanistan the boys have more chances to participate in different social activities including sports and the girls mostly stay at home to help on home tasks, so Skateistan is here to give chance for girls to participate in programs like boys.”

Noorzai, Programs Officer

Mazar-e-Sharif

In Mazar, girls continue to come to Skateistan because their parents trust us. In the past few months, Skateistan has been the only external program that our students’ parents will send their children to.

More than half of our staff worldwide are women and we believe that this is central to proving to girls that they can be whatever they dream of being. Our female educators are the real drivers of girls participation, and inspire all of the girls in our programs to be whatever they want to be.

In Phnom Penh, our Programs Officer, Sina, offered some insight into how the team has achieved their girls participation goal. He described how our students join programs that are about so much more than skateboarding, because they come to learn, make new friends, and feel brave. The team in Phnom Penh focus on their annual themes of discipline, partnership, quality and quantity to ensure that the programs they run are impactful for all students, every time they participate at the Skate School.

“They feel happy to study in Skateistan because their teachers are kind and they can make more friends. Besides, three of them, as newcomers, mentioned that before they felt scared to talk with their teachers and friends. But they have recently become more brave as they get to know more friends.”

Sina, Programs Officer

Phnom Penh

Having female role models is so important for girls. Having women in positions of leadership at Skateistan shows girls that they can also become leaders. Female educators understand the challenges that girls face, and can help them overcome these barriers from their own experience. Exceeding our global girls participation goal three months in a row is reason to celebrate! When we give girls the safe space to have fun, develop their skills and confidence, they become leaders for a better world, and a better future.

If you can, donate today to ensure that girls can continue to dream big at Skateistan!

Yes

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence

alyssa — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 15:10:40 +0000

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence alyssa Fri, 02/28/2020 - 16:10

Fri, 02/28/2020 - 12:00

Skateistan works to empower women and girls through skateboarding and education. Near the end of 2019, Skateistan Skate Schools participated in the '16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence' to continue advocating on behalf of women and girls.

Empowering women and girls has always been an important part of the work we do at Skateistan. Since day one, Skateistan set the goal to empower girls by providing opportunities through skateboarding. We continue this work by encouraging students and staff in our programs to advocate on behalf of women and girls when they have the chance.

Skateistan Skate Schools participated in the ‘16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence’ to bring local issues to the forefront of their conversations. Educators at each Skate School determined specific issues around the elimination of violence against women and girls in their communities, and advocacy sessions were held to reflect those issues.

The ‘16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence’ is an annual international campaign that runs between International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November), and runs until Human Rights Day (10 December). The 16 days are used by organizations around the world to advocate for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.

Skateistan in Johannesburg ran important information sessions at the Skate School with local members of the community to create and raise awareness for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls in South Africa. Members of the local police came for a visit alongside the advocacy group People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA), a South African NGO that works on projects and research dedicated to violence against women in Africa.

Students and parents were excited to participate in the discussions between Skateistan staff, members of the police, and POWA at the Skate School. In the session at the Skate School, there were lots of activities to participate in, says Vuyo, Programs Officer in Johannesburg. The police alongside POWA aimed to increase awareness around the different types of abuse, as well as appropriate reporting procedures at the police station.

"They spoke about child-friendly spaces within the police station because most times kids fear being there. Having the spaces allows children to come forward with their case."

Vuyo, PO SA

The group also discussed bullying as a social issue, drug abuse and its possible effects on families and students, and ways to deal with peer pressure. POWA educated folks on the different types of assault that women and girls frequently face in Johannesburg.

Following the event, students discussed feeling empowered by the knowledge shared in the session. The day acted as a platform for great knowledge-sharing, and students felt confident to describe different types of assault faced by women and girls, and are confident that they understand the reporting procedure should they ever have to visit the police station.

As part of Skateistan’s culture of learning, we promote communication between Skate Schools to ensure knowledge sharing and best practice policies for advocating on behalf of children that we work with. Skateistan Kabul advocated for the elimination of violence against women and girls by hosting a knowledge sharing session at the Skate School, attended by all Skateistan staff members. Staff members shared their personal stories and experiences with gender-based violence in the community.

Staff members in the session discussed the roles of women and bystanders in witnessing gender-based violence, and how to support and stand up for women and girls whom you know are experiencing abuse, such as sexual harassment of women in public in Afghanistan.

“When a woman says that someone touched her and her voice is loud in public, we should stand for her, not blame her that she herself is a bad woman, because of her clothing and appearance.”

Zahra, Programs Officer in Kabul.

Following the session, participants surveyed their feelings on what they learned. 100% of the participants said that after the knowledge sharing session, they felt confident to take action in their personal lives to protect women and girls when they experience or observe abusive behaviour towards them. The Kabul team discussed the need to share this knowledge with Skateistan Youth Leaders and students to ensure awareness and steps to take action in their local community.

Consider making a donation today so we can continue supporting staff and students in their work to advocate on behalf of women and girls in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and South Africa.

Skateistan Documentary: Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl)

alyssa — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 08:42:56 +0000

Skateistan Documentary: Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) alyssa Thu, 10/24/2019 - 10:42

Thu, 10/24/2019 - 12:00

A short documentary which follows the progress of a group of girls at Skateistan in Kabul.

Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl), is a short documentary which follows the progress of a group of girls at Skateistan in Kabul. Filmed over the course of a year, Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone follows the girls as they progress both in the classroom and the skatepark, navigating not only the challenges of their education but of the increasingly unstable world outside the walls of Skateistan.

The film focuses on how Skateistan acts as a haven from the outside world for its students. Within the walls of Skateistan, the girls are free to express themselves, learn without fear and to allow their personalities to shine.

In addition to winning the Best Documentary Short prize at Tribeca, Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone also recently won Best Short Doc at the Flyway Film Festival in Wisconsin and the Social Justice Film Festival in Seattle, and was named to the International Documentary Association’s short list for their 2019 awards.

See below for a list of upcoming screenings at film festivals:

Washington West Film Festival (Greater Washington DC Area)

Friday, 10/25 5:15pm
Saturday, 10/26 7:45pm
As part of Shorts Program: Breakthrough

SCAD Savannah Film Festival (Savannah, GA)

Saturday, Oct. 26 at 2 p.m.

United Nations Association Film Festival (San Francisco Bay Area)

Sunday, October 27 at 1:20pm

SFFILM Doc Stories (San Francisco, CA)

Saturday, November 2, 2019, 1:00 pm (part of Doc Shorts 1: Childhood Heroes)

DOC NYC (New York, NY)

Fri Nov 8, 2019, 12:45 PM (Short List Shorts screening with St. Louis Superman)

Hamptons Doc Fest (Sag Harbor, NY)

December 5-9 (Screening dates/times to be announced)

Mazar-e-Sharif Update: Partner Profile of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan

alyssa — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 07:16:04 +0000

Mazar-e-Sharif Update: Partner Profile of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan alyssa Thu, 10/24/2019 - 09:16

Thu, 10/24/2019 - 12:00

As part of our focus on developing inclusive and accessible programs, we are excited to highlight the work we do with deaf and hard of hearing students.

In Afghanistan, living with a disability means that it is more difficult to access basic services like education, health care and physical activity. To help change this, Skateistan partnered with the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan to provide access to education and opportunities to children with a disability in Mazar-e-Sharif.

As part of our focus on developing inclusive and accessible programs, we are excited to highlight the work we do with deaf and hard of hearing students. Across our locations in Afghanistan and Cambodia, as many as 100 deaf children have taken part in Skate & Create and Outreach programs. Last year, Skateistan worked with over 156 disabled children to offer access to opportunities for education, skateboarding, and physical activity. Many deaf and hard of hearing students participate in the Skate and Create program at the Skate School in Mazar-e-Sharif.

In May 2016, we started working with the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) to develop ways to best serve communities of children living with disabilities. To reach these groups more effectively, we partner with organizations that have established relationships with these communities to have the greatest impact on their potential.

The SCA is a Swedish non-governmental organization committed to fighting for an Afghanistan free of violence, poverty and discrimination by advocating for access to health care, education, and community governance. Their Education program is implemented in 14 provinces around 81 districts in Afghanistan, aimed at providing access to quality educational opportunities. The SCA Education program provides access to education for almost 80,000 children, most of them learning in community based education classes. They work with children of all abilities to promote equal access to opportunities, and work to ensure that children living with a disability attend public school or access community based education classes. To further their potential, their students participate at Skateistan, providing alternative education opportunities and access to sport and physical activity, often for the first time in their lives.

“Before I joined Skateistan I was just playing with my friends but we didn’t have a chance to do sports.”

SCA Student, Fatima

Studies have shown that access to school and literacy in Afghanistan did not improve between 2005 and 2013 for children and youth with disabilities. In 2018, a record number of disabled Afghans sought assistance for the first time at physical rehabilitation centres run by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) across Afghanistan. The need is there - we just needed the right partner to help us respond to it.

The Skate and Create program at Skateistan helps students build life skills through a balance of social sports and structured learning. In the skatepark and in the classroom, Skateistan’s Educators guide activities to promote wellness, equality and creative expression. The program is accessible to all levels of literacy and ability, a perfect fit for the SCA students to develop relationships and skills that overcome deep social barriers.

Essential to all Skateistan programs, all staff and volunteers are trained with an up to date Child Protection Policy and First Aid training. Before working with the SCA students, the SCA provided inclusivity training for ten Skateistan staff members in Mazar-e-Sharif. This training included a learning session on different types of disabilities, a session on the rights of people living with disabilities, as well as learning sign language to communicate with non-verbal students. Now ten Skateistan staff in Mazar-e-Sharif are able to use basic sign language with deaf students, making a huge difference in their ability to build strong relationships and communicate with these children.

The SCA selected around 30 students from their program to participate once a week at the Skate School in Mazar-e-Sharif. Transportation to the Skate School is provided by Skateistan for all of the children and their teachers - an important component of being able to attend Skateistan programs. To best support the SCA students, one or two sign language teachers attend Skate and Create classes with their students. Now, students of all abilities in the Skate and Create program are able to try new things in a safe and supportive environment in the skate park and in the classroom, leading to positive development learning life skills.

To discuss the impact of our partnership with SCA, we featured a student named Fatima on our blog a while back. Fatima started joining Skateistan programs with SCA. When she started coming to the Skate School, she was very withdrawn and struggled with her physical movement. At first she felt like she had to rely on the instructor from SCA to communicate. Over time, as Skateistan staff became her friends and mentors, she was able to reach out to them for support. Then, when Fatima felt frustrated in the program, she was able to communicate her feelings with Skateistan instructors who could sign, and with their support she gradually built her confidence to take chances and learn to love skateboarding.

Watch our video of a student and instructor from SCA signing in the Skate School in Mazar-e-Sharif.

Working together with the SCA to provide inclusive and adaptive programming for people of all abilities breaks down barriers for children to have fun, build their skills and confidence and make new friends while they’re at it. The students really enjoy Skate and Create lessons that use role playing, as well as drawing in the classroom. When they’re asked what they’d rather do outside of the classroom - football or skateboarding, skating almost always wins!

If you like what we’re doing, you can support Skateistan to run its programs in all locations, which empower children through skateboarding and education by donating today.

Student Profile: Introducing Belkesa*

alyssa — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 08:42:18 +0000

Student Profile: Introducing Belkesa* alyssa Tue, 10/08/2019 - 10:42

Tue, 10/08/2019 - 12:00

Introducing you to a student at one of our Skate Schools.

Student Profile: Introducing... is a series where we feature a student at one of our Skate Schools to give you a chance to get to know them better.

In a country where women often face hostility when fighting for their rights, speaking out can be challenging, even intimidating...but this is something Belkesa wants to change.

Belkesa* is 10 years old and lives in the local community near the Skate School in Kabul. She has been a Skateistan student for a long time, as she first enrolled in the Back-to-School program three years ago. The Back-to-School program is an accelerated learning program for children who are out of school and is often their only chance at getting an education. In Afghanistan, children who are out of school join our Skate School five days a week to cover three grades of public education in 11 months. Upon completing this program, Belkesa is now enrolled and attending the fourth grade in the Afghan government school system.

In the Back-to-School program, Belkesa was always really excited for the classroom sessions and the education that Skateistan lessons provided. At Skateistan in Kabul we provide learning opportunities not only in the classroom, but in non-traditional environments like the skatepark and sports hall. As much as she loved learning in the classroom she also loved free time so she could practise skateboarding and play other sports, like soccer.

We run five programs within our Skate Schools for children aged 5-17: Outreach, Dropping In, Skate and Create, Back-to-School and Youth Leadership. Skateistan programs are designed so that children can stay involved with the Skateistan community for the long term. As a result, the Back-to-School program was not the end of Belkesa’s time as a student at Skateistan. Since graduating from the program and enrolling in Afghan public school, Belkesa now attends Skate and Create lessons once a week. She is a very motivated student and enjoys the Skate and Create lessons because she gets to learn new things, which cover a wider range of topics than what she learns in school.

“I want to learn different things, like Pashto and dictation.”

In the classroom, Belkesa is an amazing listener and her love of learning is evident in the way that she passionately participates in every class. She has recently been learning about wildlife and our natural environment, she finds it exciting to be able to explain these concepts to her friends and other people in her life. But she doesn’t stop there, she takes the initiative to learn new things in class by challenging her teachers and her classmates, often supporting the teacher by explaining concepts about what she finds interesting to her classmates. For example, she loves to learn about wildlife, and will often speak publicly to the class about why she finds these these things so exciting.

“I will become a leader and will bring changes in women's lives”.

Belkesa is developing her passion for public speaking and women’s empowerment by attending Skateistan programs, where she’s learning about the importance for girls and women to be able to participate in physical activity and play sports.

Soroush, one of Belkesa’s former Educators talks about her motivations and ambitions:

“Belkesa* is a 10-year old Skate & Create student who wants to become a women's activist in the future and bring changes in women's life. She was a Back-to-School student years ago and now she is back attending Skate and Create sessions. Belkesa is very proactive and a very good public speaker too!”

In addition to taking an interest in the natural environment and wildlife, Belkesa has developed a passion for public speaking and enjoys presenting in front of the class.

She said, “since I came to Skateistan I know I can support the women of my country.”

It is incredibly important to have an advocate like Belkesa for women and girls at a time when about 44% of Afghan children (approximately 3.7 million) aged 7 to 17 years old are out of school. Girls make up 60% of the total children missing school, and in some of the more unstable provinces, more than 85% of girls are not in school. More than that, girls at every single age are far less likely than boys to attend public school and receive an education.

By combining skateboarding with creative, arts-based education, we give children the opportunity to become leaders for a better world. Through lessons that help children to learn life skills, to be creative and to think critically, we help them navigate through life’s challenges. Belkesa has a thirst for knowledge, is an intelligent and passionate public speaker and is starting to carve her path as a women’s rights advocate in a place where there are few of them. She’s already starting to help change the world for the better, and we can’t wait to see her follow her passions.

If you love what we’re doing and want to get involved, become a Citizen of Skateistan today to help more children like Belkesa discover their potential.