Since we launched our Keystone project to engage with Syrian Kurds through fitness and frisbee, we have had more and more young people join the session. One of them is Shevan, a 15-year-old boy who has become a regular attendee. He considers Keystone a safe space where he finds rest and joy, as he says, “I can’t wait for Sundays and Tuesdays, Our Keystone days, because it is fun. I love Frisbee. It has become my favorite sport now.”
Not only has he had a lot of fun and even lost at least eight kilos of weight in three months, Shevan was also able to meet his 1st grade classmate at Keystone after several years of no communication! Now, they are close friends and spend time together every Sunday and Tuesday, not only during Keystone hours, but after Keystone too. They either hang out or visit one another. “The quality of my friendships has changed after Keystone. Before starting Keystone, I would hang out with friends who smoke, drive cars without a driving license, and chase girls, but now through keystone I have got good friends. My friends and I encourage one another,” he says. Not only Shevan is happy with Keystone, but his parents are as well. His parents mentioned that they noticed progress in his emotional health. He is not bored anymore; He has something life-giving to do.
