During his trip Noah Abrams captured the skateboarding children of Afghanistan.
Photographer Noah Abrams shares how one organization is helping Afghan children, four wheels at a time.
Skateboarding has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It was the conduit through which I was first introduced to photography and something that has always enabled me to look at the world in a unique way. When I first read about Skateistan—a charity that uses skateboarding to equip Afghan youth with the tools to lead their communities and help bring about social changeand development—I felt an instant connection and a need to support their efforts.
After several months of emails and planning—as well as 54 hours of travel—I found myself standing on the tarmac of the Kabul International Airport. On my first afternoon, I was taken to a makeshift skate
spot to spend some time with the kids. Their boards may have been cracked and their wheels centimeters from falling off, but their enthusiasm and smiles took me to a familiar feeling.
For a few hours a day, these children are allowed to escape the violence that pervades their daily lives and just be kids. They are given a piece of wood with four wheels and told to make something of it, and like so many others who skate, they will learn to look at the world a little differently. Skateistan believes
that in doing this, these young athletes could be the ones who fi nd lasting solutions to the issues they will inevitably inherit as adults, and Afghanistan could once again know peace. It’s a belief I share and hope for as well. Visit skateistan.org.
