Most people might think that helmets, kneepads, and skateboards are unusual tools for rebuilding a society, but not Oliver Percovich, who in 2007 founded Skateistan, Afghanistan’s first and only co-ed skateboarding school. Poor families will often dedicate their limited resources to investing in the education and futures of their sons at the expense of their daughters. At Skateistan, girls are given the same opportunities that are afforded to boys and are provided a safe space where they can develop a sense of freedom. Percovich hopes that the new-found confidence coming out of this experience will help young women take charge of rebuilding of a society fractured by war.