The Keedz: How Skateboarding Saved Two Nairobi Boys
The daily inundation of discouraging global news is enough to make us want to tune out the media entirely, but every now and then a story surfaces that makes us thankful for humanity. Enter: The Keedz. Dubbed “The Kenyan street kids saved by skateboarding,” Mwangi and Ezra “Balotelli” (named after the Italian soccer player) are two young boys in Nairobi that had two simple dreams: to live in a house and go to school. Oh, and skate. When the neighborhood skating community realized that the two kind kids hanging out at the park were homeless and hungry, they started a crowdsourcing campaign to help get them on their feet, into school, and on boards.
We first learned about The Keedz from our friend Brianna Lance who found their story incredibly inspiring. “They had nothing, but found and followed their passions anyway,” she says on the phone from New York. “Plus, in a world of big picture problems, it’s amazing to have a finite dollar amount that you know will save two lives.” Donating to and advocating for major organizations like Planned Parenthood and EveryTown are vital but sometimes it’s nice to know that your ten bucks are directly going to impact two lives.
The boys, now living with fellow skater and college student George, are at the top of their classes and, for the time being, well taken care of.
Sadly, however, this improvement in lifestyle isn’t permanent. Plans for their future housing and school options are being made and any little bit helps whether it’s ten or 100 dollars. All of the money raised goes straight to their class fees and livelihood. Our new tee designed by Balo (as shown below) is another way to support the boys. 100% of proceeds go to the Kenyan Street Kids campaign!
Our 'Thug Life' fundraiser tee is no longer available.
