Sosina Challa lives in Ethiopia (埃塞俄比亚), in eastern Africa. When she was about 16, she and her friends ( see ) a group of boys skateboarding (滑滑板) . "I used to watch skateboarding in the movies. But I never got the chance to try," Challa said. "So I just asked I could try to skate. It was fun!"
At the time, skateboarding was still something new in Ethiopia and usually it ( play ) by boys. But Challa was crazy about it. She wanted more girls ( experience ) skateboarding. So in 2020, she teamed up with her friend Micky Asfaw to start a club called Ethiopian Girl Skaters (EGS). Since then, the club ( provide ) free skateboarding lessons for more than 150 girls and young women. It's not just about skateboarding, she says. "We try to build a community."
EGS lessons take place on Saturdays, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Addis Skatepark. Each class has about 35 students. "You get skating lessons and make friends. That's the best," says Kenan Menasse, one of the club ( member ).
"When I started skateboarding, there were no girls actively taking part in the skate community because the stereotype (刻板印象)," Challa says. In traditional Ethiopian society, girls have to ( stay ) home and help their parents." The sport is for everyone," she tells parents don't want to let their daughters join the club.
"It's not just what we give them," Challa says about EGS and its members. "Everyone in the community ( help ) each other. That's how we try to build our sistership."
