<p dir="ltr"><strong>Challenges and Solutions</strong></p>

<p dir="ltr">It’s rare for grassroots social projects to have the time and space to reflect openly about the challenges and difficulties they are facing. It’s even more rare to have people around who understand and who have had similar experiences.&nbsp;</p>

<p dir="ltr">This topic was kicked off with a presentation by Skateistan South Africa Educator, Wendy Ngwenya, about past and ongoing challenges related to running Skateistan programs in Johannesburg. Then the attendees worked in groups to brainstorm challenges and discuss potential solutions.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Some of the key challenges mentioned were:</p>

<ul dir="ltr">
	<li>Sustainable funding</li>
	<li>Human resources (Reliable/available volunteers/teachers, skills gap, low pay for staff, finding leaders within community)</li>
	<li>Burn out</li>
	<li>Lack of facilities (ie. indoor skate space, workshop space)</li>
	<li>Getting skateboarding equipment</li>
	<li>Lack of inclusiveness &amp; diversity (among both participants and staff/volunteers)</li>
	<li>Measuring (long-term) impact</li>
</ul>

<p dir="ltr">Many solutions involved collaboration, whether it was sharing our resources, pursuing partnerships, or asking for help. There was also a very important and simple reminder for dealing with challenges:</p>

<p dir="ltr">Keep the love of skateboarding and keep it fun!</p>

<ul>
</ul>
