Skateistan Hits the Headlines :)

By Jonathon Burch

KABUL (Reuters) - It was an unlikely scene in the Afghan capital on Sunday as dozens of boys and girls took to the streets on skateboards, weaving in and out of traffic, past market stalls, donkey carts and hooting cars.

Police in a pick-up truck provided an escort. With sirens blaring, officers shouted commands through a megaphone at motorists telling them to make way for the kids of Afghanistan's first skateboarding school: Skateistan.

"In the name of God!" cheered one man at the side of the road, clapping and smiling in disbelief.

"Long live Afghanistan!" the children shouted in reply as they skated past.

Wearing white T-shirts adorned with "Skateistan" logos, the children zipped from the national stadium -- once the scene of public Taliban executions -- to another part of the city to take part in a competition in honour of world Go Skateboarding Day.

One of the world's poorest and most conservative countries seems like a strange place to set up a skateboarding school, but the founders of Skateistan say it has proven a remarkably successful way to reach out to marginalised kids.

"It's more than just skateboarding," said Oliver Percovich, an Australian who co-founded the school in 2007 with just three skateboards and has since watched it grow with Western donations of $650,000.

"It's a way to connect with the youth of Afghanistan. These kids are the future leaders and we hope that through skateboarding it can provide a little bit of a level playing field for both the rich and the poor," he said as skateboarders as young as eight skidded behind him trying tricks.

At the moment, all the children have to skate in is an old, disused fountain in the middle of the city, but this week the school will lay the corner stone for what will become Afghanistan's biggest indoor sports arena.

The new 1,800 square metre Skateistan indoor arena will have a skateboard park and two air-conditioned classrooms equipped with computers where students can study in between skating.

Percovich said his school has attracted a wide range of children from street beggars to those from wealthier families. His school has even helped three children back into real school, by paying what they used to earn working on the street and allowing them to teach other children to skateboard.

Ten-year-old Fazila from Kunduz in northern Afghanistan, used to beg on the streets, maybe getting $2 a day. Now she is back in school and teaches other girls how to skateboard.

"It's a good thing. It benefits people. It's good for both boys and girls. Those who are interested should come and skate here," she said, smiling.

Girls were out on the street as well as boys, something still unusual in Afghanistan where women athletes often train in private and some have been attacked for taking part in sports.

"This is the only sport in Afghanistan where girls are in the public sphere. It's very important for people to see that," said Percovich.