There are kids all over the world that live lives that a lot of us could not really comprehend. Lives so hard, so difficult, so full of despair, that getting up in the morning is a total nightmare. Fortunately there are groups that make it a little bit easier for these kids to face the day, and with ideas so simple, you wonder why you didn’t think of it.
The first is a group that I’ve been following for some time now out of one of the roughest areas of the United States: East Oakland, California. It’s called Scraper Bikes. The idea is this: kids (who have at least a 3.0 GPA) pimp out their bicycles and ride around the neighborhood. The group encourages creativity, a sense of community, you look cool as hell, aaaand you aren’t polluting. Kids in this neighborhood have grown up way faster than they should have and this group reminds them that they are in fact just that. Kids!
The second group is one that I came across somewhat recently called Skateistan. We all know that Kabul, Afghanistan might be one of the most depressing cities in the world to live in. It’s either too cold, too hot, too dusty, too windy or there are too many suicide bombings. It’s a rough life. Especially for kids brought up in it. Throw skateboarding into the mix and all of a sudden, if but only for a few hours a day, you give these kids something genuinely fun and exciting to look forward to. Thanks to this group and a bunch of cool sponsors, there is now a full working skatepark in a place that under the Taliban, you could have never imagined.
If you’ve put a smile on a kid’s face, you’ve succeeded. These groups do just that. Peep the videos!
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