In a place ravaged by years of war, there is something new taking place: Afghan youth propelled by a deck on four wheels and armed with an abundance of self confidence and a new pair of skate shoes.

Skateistan is a co-ed skateboard school and the group behind Kabul's first skatepark, says the school's founder, Sharna Nolan. The school engages growing numbers of urban and internally-displaced youth in Afghanistan through skateboarding, and provides them with new opportunities in cross-cultural interaction, education, and personal empowerment, according to their website. The main objective of Skateistan is to build the confidence of Afghan kids and to give them a voice, as Nolan explains in the video below. It's been amazing for Nolan to watch these youth become empowered through skateboarding.

There's nothing like watching an Afghan woman roll down a ramp for the first time and she has achieved something she never thought she would.

SKATEISTAN: TO LIVE AND SKATE KABUL from Diesel New Voices on Vimeo.

In the 50s and 60s Afghanistan had modern, clean health facilities. Today only 13% of children are born in hospitals. Photo: Daveeza (Flickr)

Recall an Afghanistan you probably forgot existed (or maybe you never knew). It's modern, stylish, and humming with productive economic activity. Women work alongside men dressed in form-fitting pencil skirts and kitten heels.

Foreign Policy's photo essay on Afghanistan in the 50s and 60s provides a glimpse into this bygone era. The photos highlight how much has changed since a war with the Soviets, a decade of Taliban rule, and the U.S. invasion.

There are shots of cinemas, homes lit with electricity, and well-stocked hospitals — things that few Afghans enjoy today.

This visual reminder of a long-lost Afghanistan says more than words ever could about how much conflict and oppression has cost the Afghan people.