Eyethu Hout Bay Skate Park is using a novel approach to see the dreams of skaters being realised, and have called on the public to crowd-fund the construction of the park which could benefit 9 000 youngsters.
Organisers hope to raise R650 000 to establish a state-of-the-art concrete skate park and currently have just under R85 000 with only 13 days left to donate on the IndieGoGo crowdfunding site.
The project aims to “empower, connect and integrate the children of Hout Bay” and they plan to break ground after the rainy season if their campaign is successful, says volunteer marketing and project co-ordinator Vicki Scheffel.
“The community is severely lacking in safe community recreational spaces. We believe it is important that our youth have such spaces - they can be a creative outlet, or a way for kids to find their place,” she says.
Scheffel says the project started with only six children from the Hout Bay area in November last year and has now grown to 80 children between the ages of eight and 12.
“We really just want to create a space for these children where it is free to go to and accessible to the public. For months we used to host skate sessions or skate clinics outside the Hout Bay library but it was illegal to do so,” Scheffel says.
Crowdfunding started about a month ago but had to be halted for a few days, Scheffel explains.
“The day that (the recent) fire swept through Imizamo Yethu, children who are part of the skate park clinic came there still covered in ashes and traumatised.
“That was the place they wanted to come to and that made us realise that these kids need a safe space they could come to and it also made us realise it is not a shame to ask for help or to ask for money because these children need it,” she says.
The skate clinic was given 38 skateboards by a resident but only have 21 at the moment, Scheffel said.
If you would like to donate through the crowdfunding page, visit https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/eyethu-skatepark-community.