Uganda skateboard union is a project that was created by youngsters in a rural African village who were influenced by seeing skateboarding on television. They had no concrete ramps or area to practice on so they joined together and built a skatepark. They built the first ever skatepark in Uganda in a small village called Kintintale. With no assistance from the authorities or government, the youth of Kintinale went it alone to build their skatepark. They collected bricks and concrete and started building from scratch. Skateboarding is now very popular around the village and many youngsters are joining in. This project has helped to overcome boredom caused by poverty in the region. The youths now have something fun and progressive to take part in.

From watching the documentary that is on-line you really get a feeling for how this project has improved the area and benefited teenagers. In the short documentary there is an interview with one of the skateboarder’s mothers where she says that before her son started skateboarding he was hanging around with the wrong crowd and getting into trouble, he is now skateboarding which is improving his lifestyle and has helped to change the way he communicates and socialises with other people. There is another interview with one of the elders in the village who says that skateboarding has made youngsters want to succeed in life and look further afield.

I like the way that skateboarding has changed the outlook for many people who live in this town and think that it has made a better community and lifestyle for the many youths who are surrounded by poverty and ill health. The documentary is outlining the importance for something for the youths to take part in and i believe skateboarding is very important in this town.

The photographs taken of the project illustrate the happiness the park has given the community and are a complete contrast to conventional skateboard photography. The young people holding skateboards against a back drop of mud huts and poverty stricken landscape really brings the viewer into the region and surroundings that these people live in. It’s strange to see that in such a small Ugandan village that there is a big skateboard community.

The way the documentary starts of with the music of the region which brings the viewer into the area in which this takes place. this continues with shots of the surrounding area with its mud huts, children playing in the streets and skateboarders going down the road. an interview with the head of the union, tells us the history of the sport on in the region. i like how the documentary informs us of the view of many people in the neighborhood from the youths to the parents. it is very interesting how what can be seen in the media about a sport can have such an impact in a community in uganda. this goes to show that media coverage of skateboarding can have a bigger impact than we really do realize.

hope you enjoy the photographs. video below....

"I mostly focus my work on identities, dreams and senses of belonging to communities.I’m really interested

the way people come together and create their own subculture. "

"The first Uganda skateboarders were inspired by the television, but hadn’t any concrete to practice on in

their neighborhood. They built the only skatepark of East Africa with their own hand in Kitintale, a wor-

king class suburb of Kampala. With no assistance from government or large NGO’s, kids from Uganda took

significant steps to overcome boredom and poverty through skateboarding. Skateboarding keeps the youth

busy, combats the development of negative habits and develops a sense of belonging to a community.

The elder skateboarders became also kind of educators. They talk about the problems that many Ugandan

families are facing like HIV or malaria and try to inculcate values such as respect and solidarity among the

younger ones. " (yann gross)

extract taken from his website on how he saw the project.

Below is a documentary on the project.

Kitintale from Yann Gross on Vimeo.