Gallery: Celebrating Skateistan's 10th anniversary
The photographs, which were taken during a three-week journey to Skateistan’s Skate Schools in Cambodia, Afghanistan and South Africa, beautifully capture the organisation’s positive impact and the diversity of its students.
When Skateistan began in 2008, it was no more than a few girls on skateboards in Kabul, Afghanistan and a dream of Australian Founder, Oliver Percovich. 10 years later and it has grown into an award-winning organisation with four Skate Schools and over 2,000 active students, 50% of which are girls. Skateistan’s programmes, which centre around skateboarding, education and community engagement, are available free of charge to youth aged 5-17 from all economic, ethnic and religious backgrounds and specifically focus on girls, children living with disabilities and low-income youth.
In celebration of this 10-year milestone, Skateistan has launched a six-week fundraising campaign that looks to the future of the organisation through Buchanan’s imagery and tells the inspiring stories of Monira*, Thato*, Nooria* and Tevy*, four of Skateistan’s students who, through access to education and skateboarding, are set to build a brighter future for themselves and their communities.
Launched on 10 May, the Skateistan10 campaign asks the public to donate in a bid to raise $50,000 by Go Skateboarding Day on 21 June. With this funding, Skateistan will be able to empower thousands more children, create safe spaces in new locations, and change the lives of even more children in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa over the next 10 years.
Oliver Percovich, Skateistan’s Founder and Executive Director said: “The pressure is on as we know that skateboarding can change children’s lives, we know we can connect them to quality education through the programmes we are running. There are so many children, especially girls and children living with disabilities, that need access to better quality education and fun in their lives. It’s not a question of whether we are going to do it, it’s how we can do it. This snowball is rolling and it’s time to turn it into an avalanche.”
Quotes from the four Skateistan students featured in the campaign:
“I feel like I am flying and I can do something special and important.” – Monira, 9, Back-to-School student, Kabul, Afghanistan
“Skateboarding makes me feel better, happy and confident.” – Thato, 8, Skate and Create student, Johannesburg, South Africa
“I feel brave when I am skating!” – Nooria, 8, Skate and Create student, Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan
“At first, I felt nervous and sometimes I still am, but now I feel excited too!” – Tevy, 11, Skate and Create student, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
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