‘Skaters’ bring back dreams to youth threatened by drugs and crime in Maputo

A skateboard and a pair of sneakers saved 19-year-old Richard Vilanculo from the dangers of street life in Maputo. Today, in addition to school, the young man has a dream: to bring the colors of the Mozambique flag to the Olympic competitions.

“Skateboarding saved me, and now I’ve been training for almost eight years,” Richard Vilanculo told Lusa, standing with one foot on his skateboard, in the middle of the corner between Paulo Samuel Canhomba and Martires da Machava avenues, a busy part. capital of Mozambique, where dozens of young people practice this sport.

Richard Vilanculo is among dozens of young people rescued by a community project by Maputo Skate, a Mozambican skate association that aims to keep young people in school by encouraging them to combine activities with the sport, especially in the suburbs of Mozambique’s capital.

“When they enter a project without a dream, we teach them to dream. They may not have a vision for life, but with this initiative we encourage them to have a life project and a broader vision. If this young man develops his skills in skateboarding, he can compete, representing the country in foreign competitions,” Maputo Skate President Francisco Luis told Lusa.

Data from the latest census (2017) published by the National Institute of Statistics shows that of the 32 million Mozambicans, about 9.4 million are young people, a third of whom have no job, education or training.

Until 2015, Richard Vilanculo was one of these statistics, but after taking part in the Maputo Skate project, he found the strength to return to school and, above all, to dream of a future away from the “dangers of the streets.”

“I was on the street, I didn’t have a specific goal. I didn’t fit in as a young man. Now, in addition to being a student, I am also a “skater”. I follow the arts,” he explained with pure enthusiasm, expressing his ambition to one day represent Mozambique in international competitions.

In total, as noted by the president of Maputo Skate, at least 150 young fans of the sport in Maputo have returned to school as a result of this initiative, but there are several problems in continuing the project.

“We don’t have enough space to train. We installed ramps in Continuadores Park. [um famoso recinto desportivo no centro da capital], but they were removed and now the managers charge us 100 metics (1.4 euros) for training. We don’t have that kind of money,” said Francisco Luis.

The solution for lovers of this art was to return to the streets, risking maneuvers in the midst of the hustle and bustle typical of an area that accounts for 70% of the entire country’s vehicle fleet: Greater Maputo.

“We have cases where several people have already been injured on the street. I’ve already broken my collarbone myself. We would like to have our own place where we don’t have to worry about cars, since skateboarding is already a sport that requires concentration,” said Ruben Vilanculos, president of the Matola Skateboarding Association, who is also involved in the project.

While decisions remain elusive and appeals multiply, fans of the sport vow to continue traversing the avenues of Mozambique’s capital amid hoots and shouts with ambitions to reclaim the “dreams” of suburban youth threatened by drugs and crime.

“The Skate bug is within us, and essentially Skate started on the streets. We didn’t want it to end here, but we won’t stop,” concluded the President of Maputo Skate.