Back on Board

Back on Board: Meet Arunny

jess — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 13:01:24 +0000

Back on Board: Meet Arunny jess Fri, 06/18/2021 - 15:01

Fri, 06/18/2021 - 12:00

Our Back on Board campaign aims to raise $125,000 to support our students as they return to Skate School. Meet Arunny, a student in Cambodia who cannot wait to get back on board once the lockdown ends.

Arunny is 12 and she lives in Phnom Penh with her mother. She started coming to Skateistan late in 2020, when the Skate School had reopened after the first Covid-19 lockdown.

Arunny’s mom worked as a housekeeper and she’s a single parent. She didn’t get the chance to attend school and she cannot read and write. Her mom alone has to pay the bills for food, accommodation and raising her kid, and she strives for her family’s survival. Arunny doesn’t attend regular school because she doesn’t have some of her official documentation. So Skateistan is the only place where she can learn, play and socialize.

During the pandemic, Arunny’s home life became tougher. Like many workers around the world, her mom lost her job which meant they had very little money coming in. As a young girl, Arunny reported that she doesn’t know how to deal with her family situation. She and her mom were just hoping the pandemic would pass quickly so her mom could return to work and Arunny could return to Skateistan.

Arunny loves Skate School and she works hard to improve her skills in the classroom. She says she feels pressure sometimes to do well because her family situation is hard. Her mom is keen for Arunny to keep studying so she can get a better job. She wants her daughter to go further than she has done.

When the lockdown began in Cambodia in March 2020, Skateistan had to close.

“It's hard for me to describe how I felt about my Skate School closure. This is the only place I could learn. In this time, my passion and enthusiasm for study have become stronger.”

Arunny

When the first lockdown ended, Arunny was happy to get back to school and keep pursuing her dreams. She joined the Dropping In program and Youth Leadership and she also joined the Global Girl Project, which aims to help girls develop their voices and leadership skills. She was excited about being with Skateistan as she’s seen her progress rapidly improve. She became a braver and stronger girl and equipped herself with basic technological knowledge like typing and accessing online learning. She always used to attend her classes and managed to help younger students in her extra hours.

Sadly, Cambodia went back into lockdown at the start of 2021 and Arunny found herself back in the same situation. Skateistan had to close its doors again and she was worried she would lose her momentum and the progress she had made.

Once again Arunny cannot socialize and meet face-to-face with her friends like before. She has been engaging with the remote programs that are offered through the Skate School. For Arunny, she is glad that she can still carry on learning but she can’t wait to get back to Skate School and attend programs in person.

“I feel excited when my skate school reopens because it allows me to gain more from my studies like participating in English and computer classes and also to socialize with my friends.”

Her mom is also keen for Arunny to get back to Skateistan. She said:

“In the past my daughter used to be shy and not confident to talk with her friends but now she has become more confident and independent to try new things on her own. She also can help teach smaller children and her friends.”

We are hoping that we’ll be able to start in-person programs in Cambodia very soon and we can’t wait to welcome Arunny and her friends once again. We’ll focus on helping students like Arunny to process what has happened during the pandemic and to voice their concerns and hopes for the future.

Can you support students like Arunny to get Back on Board?

Yes

Back on Board: Meet Basmina

jess — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 13:28:08 +0000

Back on Board: Meet Basmina jess Mon, 06/07/2021 - 15:28

Mon, 06/07/2021 - 12:00

Our Back on Board campaign aims to raise $125,000 to support our students as they return to Skate School. Meet Basmina, a student who learned lots about herself during lockdown.

Basmina* is 13 and because of conflict, she had to flee her hometown. She is one of thousands of internally displaced children who are trying to rebuild their lives.

Life has not been easy for Basmina or her family. Her father is a soldier and has to be away for six month periods. Her mother stays at home to look after the family, which is large - Basmina has four sisters and four brothers and they live together with her uncle’s family. There is never enough money.

Basmina started coming to Skateistan in 2019. This was totally new for her - she had never been to school before. In her hometown, many girls are out of school and some members of her family and community have put pressure on Basmina to quit school. But her mother is adamant that her daughter should have a chance at an education. She herself did not go to school and she can’t read or write. She is determined that her children will have a brighter future. So when Basmina started coming to Skateistan, she joined the Back-to-School program, which is for children who are not in school. Five days a week, they follow the national curriculum and they are then enrolled in public school once they have caught up.

When Basmina first came to Skateistan, she was really nervous and she had tons of questions in her mind. She was worried because at 11, she was older than many of the students in her class. Her educators reassured her that age doesn’t matter and that you’re never too old to start learning.

Over the next few months, Basmina noticed a change in herself. She started to feel more confident and even began to dream of her future. She wants to be a doctor and she no longer felt like that would be impossible for her. According to her educators, she is a hardworking, bright, articulate and kind girl.

“She made great progress in terms of setting goals for herself and leadership. She soon proved herself as one of the best students in the Back-to-School program as well as being a member of the Youth Leadership classes. Many times she talked to her educators about becoming a volunteer at Skateistan.”

Fatima

Educator

And then the lockdown came. In March 2020, all Skateistan Skate Schools had to close for in-person classes due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This was the first time since we started running our work that we had suspended programs indefinitely. For children like Basmina, this was really hard to take.

“When I found out that skateistan is being closed because of the outbreak of Covid-19, I felt very sad because I feel comfortable and safe when I am amongst my friends and educators at Skateistan. It was very boring for me to stay at home all day long and I could not do any sport, I wanted to be back at Skateistan soon again. I like skateboarding and cycling. I also missed my friends and educators.”

Basmina

The team at Skateistan got to work straight away to offer support and remote programs to our students. This included distributing food, hygiene supplies and learning materials as well as organizing activities for students to do at home. Although it wasn’t the same experience as being together with her friends, Basmina used the time to learn more about herself.

"I had time to think of why I want to be at Skateistan and why I want to study my lessons. I decided that nothing should stop me from achieving my goals. I learnt that even from home I can learn, no matter what. I found out nothing, including the pandemic, war, violation and discrimination can stop girls from education, because I could see how hard my educators were trying to reach out to us during the pandemic.”

Basmina

In September last year, the Skate School reopened for students. Staff take care to keep educating students about hygiene and infection and they follow the regulations set out in the Skate Schools. Basmina has now been enrolled in public school, following her successful graduation from the Back-to-School program at Skateistan.

Now, Basmina is studying in Grade 6 and she is happy that she finally joined the formal education in a hub school. She actively takes part in her class, does her homework and is present in the class every day. Her love for skateboarding has not diminished. Basmina is still coming to Skateistan for the Skate and Create program and she continues to be a role model for other students. We can’t wait to see what sort of future Basmina will build for herself, now that she is Back on Board.

Skateistan is running a fundraising campaign to support students as they return to Skate School after lockdown restrictions. If you want to help more children like Basmina get Back on Board, please consider donating to Skateistan today.

*Basmina’s name has been changed in accordance with Skateistan’s Child Protection Policy.

Yes

Back on Board: Meet Lesedi

jess — Thu, 27 May 2021 14:20:20 +0000

Back on Board: Meet Lesedi jess Thu, 05/27/2021 - 16:20

Tue, 06/01/2021 - 12:00

Lesedi says he felt terrible when the Skate School closed because of lockdown. Now he's Back on Board and feeling awesome!

Lesedi* is 12 years old and he’s been coming to Skateistan for four years. He has always been a social butterfly and his educators describe him as friendly, chatty and enthusiastic. Just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit South Africa, something happened which made Lesedi feel unsafe in his neighbourhood. Inner-city Johannesburg can often feel unsafe, especially for children. When the lockdown began, these feelings of insecurity became especially apparent for Lesedi and he was really struggling emotionally and mentally.

“When the lockdown started, I felt terrible because I knew I could not come to Skateistan. I knew I would not see my friends and I missed them. I missed Tshepo, my educator at Skateistan, because he is kind and sweet.”

Lesedi

Vuyo, our Programs Officer, remembers feeling really worried for all our students.

“That was such a hard time. Many of our kids live in neighbourhoods or buildings where you don’t feel safe to play and have fun. They need safe spaces like school or Skateistan to come and just be kids. The lockdown made all of that impossible.”

Many parents also lost their jobs during this time because they were not allowed to go out and work. That’s what happened to Lesedi’s mum and she was getting really worried about being able to pay the rent. They were being threatened with eviction and the stress was piling up for them.

“That’s when we got to thinking about how we could support the families of our students. We had a lot of ideas around remote lessons and activities they could do from home. But what they needed first was security around food and housing.”

Vuyo

With that in mind, the team in Johannesburg started distributing food and hygiene kits from the Skate School, which was closed for programs. They also started fundraising to help support families in Johannesburg with rent payments during the lockdown.

“Once we had taken care of those more basic needs, we were able to move on and start helping the students with their learning from home.”

This support really helped Lesedi’s mum, so she was then able to focus on Lesedi and what he needed to get through this hard time.

“I can say that Skateistan is really doing a lot for our children and our families.”

Lesedi's mom

Vuyo explains how the team reached out to Lesedi during the lockdown:

“We were very worried for him as we could see that his personality had changed. He wasn’t the same kid anymore and he had lost his courage and his confidence. We made it a priority to contact him frequently and to help him out. We encouraged him to find activities at home that he could do to cheer himself up. And just being there for him, letting him know that we were thinking of him really helped him.”

When the Skate School reopened, Lesedi could not wait to get back.

“It felt so good to be back on a skateboard.”

Lesedi

He really enjoys dancing and the team are giving him lots of opportunities to express himself through dance. Now that he is back in a safe space, with adults he can trust, his old, sociable personality is starting to shine through again.

“Sometimes his moods affect him. He can get angry suddenly and take this out on others. But we know this is coming from a place of stress so we are simply being there for him and helping him to build himself back up. He is taking his courage back.”

Vuyo

Stories like Lesedi’s really highlight the need for safe spaces where children are free to express themselves. When the Skate Schools closed because of Covid-19, many children felt they had nowhere in their lives where they could feel truly safe. Now that our Skate School in Johannesburg is open again, we are focusing on helping children like Lesedi to process what has happened and to rediscover the joy of community, connections and skateboarding.

Will you support us to get more kids like Lesedi Back on Board?

*Lesedi's name has been changed in accordance with Skateistan's Child Protection Policy.

Yes