LONGBOARD WOMEN UNITED

Connecting Native And Refugee Communities Through Skateboarding

| BELGIUM & GERMANY

Longboard Women United creates, funds and supports humanitarian programs that fuel positive impact on some of the most vulnerable populations worldwide, specifically focusing on children, teenagers and women. “We work to break the stigma refugees carry and provide them with joyful activities while they are going through an extraordinarily hard time,” explained Valeria Kechichian, Founder and Director. “We use boards, arts and education as tools for change and help refugees integrate in their new community. Additionally, we help local kids learn empathy as they realize that these new friends are kids just like them.” Valeria says that their organization knows that basic needs are not just food and shelter but also love, safety, emotional health and intelligence, and she believes that having the resources to heal after going through intense trauma is a basic human right. To date, the organization has developed social and inclusive projects on a global scale. Longboard Women United currently runs projects in orphanages in Belgium and India, with at-risk girls in Malaysia and with kids and teenagers with physical and intellectual disabilities in Chile. They also offer an online program to help women everywhere heal from sexual abuse.

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