The Uganda Skateboard Union (5 Pictures)

In 2005 Uganda's first skateboard ramp was constructed when a South African skater doing college studies got together with local Jackson Mubiru. Built out of local bricks and covered with concrete the ramp took a month to build. A local department store donated two skateboards, the only ones in the village. Eventually a Canadian skater named Brian Lye saw the ramp while visiting Uganda and set up a network to get boards to the locals from buddies in Canada. The onetime single quaterpipe is now part of a growing skatepark sponsored by skaters from the US, England, New Zealand, South Korea and other parts of the world where skaters want to share their love of riding. You can checkout the Uganda Skateboard Union's blog here and keep up on their work and donate to the cause. My interest in this story was sparked by these pictures on the BBC news website.

Tags: Africa, Skateboarding, Uganda

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Comment by Kevin on January 6, 2010 at 4:28pm: @Mark Your never too old to dust off the board and hit the park or just roll down the street.

Comment by Mark Huckabee on January 6, 2010 at 11:02am: I always smile when I see the bumpersticker "Skateboarding is NOT a crime!" I was once a young skate punk who snuck into empty city swimming pools at night to ride the bowl. It is really cool to see these kids get the opportunity to do this. Serious props to Brian Lye for supporting this and to Kevin for bringing it to our attention!

Comment by Kevin on January 6, 2010 at 4:15am: This is definately a cause I can get behind. I think skateboarding can really make a difference in these kids lifes.

Comment by Inka Leoni on January 5, 2010 at 5:11pm: I like initiatives like these. You don't need to try to save the whole world to bring happiness to people. Just goes to show that sometimes sharing your passion in a positive way does great things.