Feel Good Friday Flashback #4 - Skateistan

Happy Feel Good Friday! I'm traveling for the next few weeks and will be tapping in to the FGF archives for stories. Join me as we look back at some favorites from the last 9 and a half years. 

_________________________________________________ 

Friday, August 17, 2018

I learned about today's Feel Good Friday organization, Skateistan, from a friend. Not only is skateboarding not a crime, it's a great way to inspire children around the globe!

Skateistan, Sanskrit for "land of skate", started in Afghanistan as a way to empower children. As explained on their website. "Through the hook of skateboarding, we engage with children, especially girls and youth from low-income backgrounds, giving them access to safe spaces and education and provide valuable life skills that go beyond the skatepark and the classroom." 

Since their earliest days in 2007, Skateistan has expanded to include programs in Cambodia and South Africa. The four core programs are designed for ages 5 to 17, offered free of charge and focus on keeping the youth involved for the long term. 

Outreach involves educators and youth leaders bringing skateboards and equipment into the communities for an hour of recreational activity. Skate and Create is a combo of one hour in the skate park and one hour in the classroom. Back-to-School varies by country. In Afghanistan it's an accelerated learning program covering the national curriculum for children who are not in school. They spend 5 days a week in class and are enrolled in public school after graduating. In Cambodia and South Africa it's a drop in program after school that provides homework help and further education and career planning. The final program, which must be applied for, is Youth Leadership. Youth leaders assist educators, mentor younger students and help plan events.

If you've got 13 minutes, I highly recommend you watch the documentary, "Land of Skate" here. Children involved in the program share how skateboarding has changed their lives and you can see how happy they are when they're skateboarding.

The best way to support this work is by making a donation and becoming a Citizen of Skateistan. You can also represent by shopping for merchandise to wear and showing your support by liking the Facebook page and following them on Twitter @Skateistan.

Feel Good Friday - International Refugee Assistance Project

No matter your thoughts on the situation in Afghanistan, there are thousands of Afghan refugees who can use some help. That’s why today’s Feel Good Friday is focused on the International Refugee Assistance Project. 

Founded in 2010, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) is “the legal advocacy organization for refugees and displaced people in need of a safe place to call home.” 

From offices in New York, Washington D.C., Amman, Lebanon, and Berlin, IRAP organizes both lawyers and law students to “develop and enforce a set of legal and human rights for refugees and displaced persons. Mobilizing direct legal aid, litigation, and systemic advocacy, IRAP serves the world’s most persecuted individuals and empowers the next generation of human rights leaders.” 

Work focused on the people of Afghanistan is being prioritized and includes providing legal resources for Afghans, petitioning the State Department for the immediate evacuation of Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants, and encouraging people to take action such as signing this petition and contacting your elected officials to encourage them to bring as many people to safety as possible.

The other areas of focus for IRAP include: family reunification, helping clients navigate private sponsorshippathways for refugees, protecting the integrity of the US asylum system, expanding legal protections for climate displaced people, and protecting and expanding U.S. refugee resettlement.

 As they explain in their 2020 Annual Report, in the last 11 years, IRAP has:

• Provided legal aid to more than 30,000 individuals
• Assisted more than 14,000 people through our artificial-intelligence-powered chatbot, which helps individuals navigate refugee resettlement and visa options
• Led the passage of 12 provisions of bipartisan U.S. congressional legislation, opening and improving pathways to safety for over 173,620 people
• Leveraged the courts in cases that could maintain pathways to safety for more than 339,000 individuals 

If you’d like to support IRAP and the people they support, there are several ways to do so. In addition to the actions listed for Afghan refugees, you can also make a donation and help other people learn about IRAP by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter @IRAP and Instagram @refugeeassistance.

If you’re looking for more organizations that support refugees. Check out these previous Feel Good Friday blogs on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Rescue Committee.

Feel Good Friday - Nowzad Dogs

You may be reading today's Feel Good Friday subject and thinking, say what now? Zad?

If you've never heard of Nowzad dogs you're not alone. Nowzad is not a breed of dog, Now Zad is a war-torn town in Afghanistan where soldiers from around the world are stationed to keep the peace. So what's with the dogs? In 2006, Royal Marine Sergeant, 'Pen' Farthing was befriended by a stray dog and he realized that it wasn't only the people of Afghanistan who could use some stability. He also saw how the animals provided the soldiers much needed comfort and company. In 2007 he founded Nowzad Dogs.

Their mission, as stated on the website, is "To relieve the suffering of animals in Afghanistan; including companion animals, working equines, stray and abandoned dogs and cats and all other animals in need of care and attention, and to provide and maintain rescue, rehabilitation and education facilities for the care and treatment of such animals with no voice but ours."

Nowzad runs the first and only stray dog shelter in Afghanistan. Just outside of Kabul it houses 100 dogs and 30 cats (separately, of course). The animals are fed, exercised and cared for by vets. The goals are to return the animals to their homes in Afghanistan, or fly them to the home country of the soldiers who adopted them.

Soldiers patrolling in Afghanistan often come upon stray dogs and cats who they adopt and bond with during their tour of duty. Nowzad raises funds to reunite these dogs with their soldiers, sending them to the soldiers' home countries. To date they've reunited over 700 companion animals to their soldiers!

Finally, Nowzad operates a clinic (funded solely by donations) that cares for the animals and spays and neuters them to try and curb the population of strays and stop the spread of rabies. The clinic is staffed by four Afghan nationals, including Afghanistan's first two female veterinarians. You go girls!

You can meet some of the soldiers and their dogs by watching this short CNN Heroes Video. As always, you can like their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter @Nowzad for all the latest and greatest news. That and pictures of dogs and cats. Feel Good Friday!