SkateistanOllie

Hi there, Chris has been a trooper through what is a relatively unstable period in Afghanistan due to the elections. I don't think there is anything to be terrified about and we are doing all we can to keep safe at all times. The biggest safety concerns are terrorist attacks that usually target the Afghan government or the international military forces. YOu really have to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Statistically it is quite safe for NGO workers with the biggest killer in Afghanistan being faulty heaters putting out CO2 in wintertime. brohug delivered

Overall we don't take that many volunteers into our programs because we want to create as many opportunities for our local staff as possible. We used to take a lot more, however now it would be less than 3 per year and we receive hundreds of applications. We are looking for an exact fit for the position with a lot of previous experience and we would like that it has the chance to become a long term employee for Skateistan.

Please see response to junbones. Thanks for your support and interest!

Most kids find out from other students that are already involved. I have been recognized by street working kids numerous times in various locations in Kabul so there are loads of kids that know about what we do. There are about 70,000 street working kids in Kabul so there is no shortage of potential new students

Not everyone is going to be happy with an organisation that provides girls with education and sport opportunities in a conservative country like Afghanistan. There are numerous things that we can do to counter that like having minimum foreigner involvement and maximum Afghan representation for the organisation, do heaps of home visits and get religious leaders involved. Overall we have pretty broad support, but we don't take it for granted.