Did you just watch the video above? Powerful, right!
At sk8mates we are committed to making the world a better place. It’s not that we just love skating. It’s that we like to have FUN, to PLAY, and ENJOY this life. We also feel that it is every child’s right to also enjoy all of these things. In many places on the earth kids do not have a choice to just have FUN and PLAY.
Can you imagine that for just a second…
For that reason, when I started to think about the idea of starting a skating brand, I felt it would be right to align this venture with a charity that shares these same values. I remembered reading something about a charity that had some connection to my passion for skating. Once I found the story again it all came back to me and instantly, it made complete sense.
It all began with a boy in a long sleeve t-shirt...
It was only a few months before the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics, when Norwegian speed skater and my skating hero, Johann Olav Koss led a humanitarian trip to the newly formed African country of Eritrea. There, he came face to face with the realities of life in a country emerging from decades of war.
As children played amidst burned out tanks, surrounded by the images of war martyrs, one boy stood out and crystallized an idea for Johann that would write the future of Right To Play.
He met the President of Eritrea and said, “You need food and I have brought sports equipment. I made a mistake. I'm sorry.” The President looked at Johann and said, “This is the greatest gift we have ever received. For the first time, we are being treated like human beings and not just something to be kept alive. For the first time, my children can play like any child.”
For Johann it felt like the starting point for something bigger. Since then, the power of play has helped millions of children to rise and recapture hope.
The early years are focused on humanitarian needs in Africa, and Asia and the Middle East. Programs launch in Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Mali, Thailand, Rwanda and the Palestinian Territories, helping 500,000 children to rise each week. Over the following years Right To Play expanded to Ethiopia, Lebanon, Jordan, Ghana, China, Pakistan and Burundi.
Programs in Canada were started to address the needs of Indigenous children and those in low-income families. More programs began in Lebanon and Jordan to cope with the Syrian refugee crisis. Right To Play has created lasting, collaborative change in Tanzania as they partner with the nation’s Education Ministry to train over 16,000 teachers.
Right To Play, as part of a global NGO coalition, now successfully advocates at the G7 Summit for a global pledge of $2.9 Billion towards girls’ education.This huge win for gender equality is punctuated by the fact that of the 1.9 million children they now reach weekly, 50 percent are girls.
This is why we feel that Right To Play is the perfect charity for us to be involved with. Skating almost always begins with a child that wants to have FUN and PLAY with their friends. It’s how I started and it’s how I’ve made so many friends over the years. We wish that for all children. It should be a RIGHT for every child to PLAY!!
Want to know more? Check out RightToPlay.com and see what is being done globally to help children PLAY again. We hope you are inspired…
