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Longboarding for Peace – Local Hero Award

500x111-L4P-Local-Hero--Longboarding-for-peaceLongboarding for Peace is proud to feature Betty Esperanza as the first recipient of our Local Hero Award.

Hailing from Montreal, Quebec, Betty’s dedication to helping youth spans almost two decades. With her Skateboards for Hope charity, Betty has made an extraordinary impact on many communities. In particular, her work in Cuba has been truly remarkable.

Until recently, most Americans could not even imagine visiting Cuba. However, as a Canadian, Betty was able to travel there for years. She feels that there is something magical about Cuba, its people, the sweet smell of the sea breeze and the sounds of vintage cars bustling on the streets of Havana. “I discovered Cuba more than 15 years ago on a business trip and then returned faithfully for 12 years, 2 to 3 times annually to soak up the sun and the Cuban hospitality.”

On a family trip (Betty was married to a Cuban native at the time), her family, including her two young sons, stayed in a modest Cuban home in Buena Vista. “We had a dreamy long vacation with family, friends and local musicians,” recalls Betty.

“I had brought many items for my sons to play with, thinking at the time they might get bored. Was I ever wrong! My sons would wake up at the crack of dawn and disappear into the neighborhood to play with their new friends. They would come home at sunset when the street lights would start to flicker.”

Betty 500x275-L4P-Local-Hero-graffiti-walltook the skateboard that she had brought with her and headed out to the streets. “There were so many potholes that I didn’t try to do anything daring. There were children watching me. One in particular had his eyes glued to my board.” Betty called him over and proceeded to teach him some skateboarding moves?. After a while, Betty thought “I’ll just give him my skateboard. It’s one less item to bring in my suitcase.” Betty never suspected that this act of giving would change her life and the lives of the kids in that remarkable Cuban neighborhood.

So began a pattern of Betty bringing two extra-large suitcases filled with gifts whenever she visited Cuba. She returned every 3 or 4 months with skateboards, chocolate and other sought after LONGBOARDING FOR PEACE items for the children.

Each time she visited Cuba, she was subject to the wary eyes of the customs officials. “Every time I said to them that these were gifts, which they were. I knew I risked serious consequences if a customs agent thought otherwise. I was conscious of the fact that these gifts might be mistaken for black-market goods to be sold in Cuba. But I was convinced that the customs agents would understand that I was simply being a good humanitarian, and that my items were, in fact, gifts for a sport that ultimately has no borders.”

Betty flew under the radar for many years until a Facebook post shed a spotlight on her efforts. Skateboards For Hope was thereby introduced to the public. “At first, I was reserved about my role because I feared of losing the freedom to bring skateboards into Cuba. But all that disappeared when I realized that I was making a statement that donating skateboards could educate the masses about skateboarding and its culture,” says Betty.

She 500x337--L4P-Local-Hero-Group-Shotbecame the godmother of Skateboards For Hope when Cuban skater Yojani Perez declared her his “godmother”. Their relationship grew to the point where Betty mentored him about sustainable projects that would aim to break the cycle of poverty.

“Skateboarding has enabled me to express my creative outlet for sustainable development and community outreach. It has bridged the gap between youth and elders, and, most importantly, has helped shred taboos and give hope to kids. The ideas have spread to the point that Cuban youth are now connected to youth in Uganda and recently to First Nations in Quebec. There are now at least 300 Cuban youth spreading peace and I am grateful to partner with LB4P and CW to help facilitate a worldwide dialogue.”

Yojani Perez played the major role as a Skateboards For Hope ambassador. His leadership and positive influence has united his community in support of skateboarding culture. In just short two years, Yojani has been at the forefront of building a skatepark, a school program and a community center.

Yojani and Betty have similar dreams: that one day Havana will host the World Cup of Skateboarding and that there will be no borders that separate skateboarders. Thanks to Betty’s courage and conviction, there could someday be a champion skateboarder from Cuba.

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