Sport Addressing the Crisis in Afghanistan: Our Q&A with Skateistan
April 15, 2022
As part of our series highlighting sport for development organizations in our network who are providing vital support, resources and more to those directly affected by humanitarian crises around the world, today read our Q&A with Alyssa Bialowas, Communications Officer for Skateistan.
Millions of Afghans are facing starvation, the country's economy and health-care system have essentially collapsed and years of conflict and environmental troubles have pushed the nation to the brink. In the immediate aftermath of the Taliban’s 2021 seizure of power, Afghans scrambled to flee the country, leaving 700,000 people newly displaced within the country, and 3.4 million people internally displaced in 2021. Compounded by human rights violations, backtracking on women and girls’ rights and a growing number of refugees, Afghanistan was named the number one humanitarian crisis on the IRC’s Top 10 Emergency Watch List.
Conflict in Afghanistan has been largely ongoing since 1978, leading to severe social dislocation and divisions between ethnic groups and economic classes. Skateistan empowers children to change the trajectory of their lives and that of their conflict-stricken communities. Since 2007, the organization has used skateboarding as a tool to engage Afghan youth, break down social barriers and empower girls and boys from all ethnicities, abilities and social classes.
Alyssa Bialowas spoke to us on Skateistan’s recently resumed programming in Afghanistan and her thoughts on sports' role in providing support during humanitarian crises:
Can you tell us the process of returning programs in Afghanistan and how it’s going?
Skateistan temporarily paused programs at its three Skate Schools in Afghanistan in August 2021. This was a time of huge uncertainty in Afghanistan as the existing regime fell. We took this step as a precaution to protect our staff and students. Many of our staff felt that the safest course of action for them and their families was to leave the country and we assisted them to do this safely in any way that we could. This included applying for visas on their behalf and arranging safe transport where possible. Some decided to stay and they are still employed by Skateistan.
It was always our intention to restart programs when possible in Afghanistan. We have been working hard to secure agreements with the new government to allow us to continue supporting Skateistan students and their families. We have now been able to support them through food and fuel distribution, as well as running our 'Back-to-School' program remotely.
Since January we have run our food distribution program and also delivered our Back to School class 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. Right now, we’re reaching around 400 students each week in this program.
Thanks to everyone who has supported us over the last few months. We promised that we were committed to the children of Afghanistan and you believed in us!
Can you give us an update on your participants, how they’re doing and the primary challenges they are facing?
Right now, we’re happy to ensure our students that they have a safe place to learn, dream and grow. As 2022 kicked off, we are delighted 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. It’s all about listening to what our community tells us they need and responding in the best way we can.
In your opinion, what is it about sport that can provide support during humanitarian crises?
Sport is a vehicle for social change. In times of crisis, sport provides children the confidence to learn and dream, and feel connected to the communities that they’re living in. Participating in sport and education programs give children the tools they need to succeed in life and become leaders for a better world.
Do you have a message you’d like us to share with our readers?
Sport and education give children the opportunity to become leaders for a better world. By giving children a safe place to learn, grow and dream, they have the skills to take what they learn in the skatepark and the classroom into their lives.
How can people help support you?
In Skateistan’s new chapter, we want to rebuild, expand and take the joy of skateboarding further afield. Our aim is to expand to 20 locations over the next year and reach 4,500 students each week. This is an ambitious goal and we cannot do it alone. Will you help us to write the next chapter of the Skateistan story? Make a donation at skateistan.org.
The Citizens of Skateistan is a global community of students, staff, skaters and supporters who share the dream of empowering and educating youth through skateboarding. By donating $10 or more a month Citizens can help make it possible for thousands of youth to attend Skateistan programs worldwide. Become a Citizen of Skateistan today: skateistan.org/citizens.
Click here to read about the other organizations in Afghanistan that are providing vital support, safe relocations equipment and resources to Afghans in need.