Me, Myself & I – Changemaker Asha

Hi, I am Asha. I am 21 years old.

I live in Janwaar, a small village close to Panna, Madhya Pradesh, India. I was the first one in my village who got a passport and travelled abroad. This was a big thing in 2016 – all the villagers were telling my parents not to let me go to Oxfordshire, UK. But my parents trusted me and let me go. This was very good of my parents. They gave me this opportunity and it has changed my life. And it wouldn’t have been possible without skateboarding!

I am a proud skateboarder. And I have no issues skateboarding with the guys. They are used to it by now. I participated in the World Skateboarding Championship in China. Even though I didn’t score high it was a good experience for me. I met so many skateboarders from all around the world and I realized that not everyone is speaking English! I also performed twice at the Indian Skateboarding Championships – and both times I came in first and won the Gold Medal.

I am a director of a section 8 company, The Barefoot Skateboarders Organizations. It is run by the Janwaar kids, We founded it in 2019 and our goal is to make the village a better place. Part of my job there is to work with my village children. I always try to teach them in a way that they are interested to learn new things! Every morning we have sessions at our Villa Janwaar. We, at th eorganization, do also take care of our elders in the village, especially those who live alone. We provide twice a week a vegetable basket for them. And we also look out for those villagers who can help us to make the village a better place and we pay them. Asharam for example is a villager who plays well the flute. Now he is giving music sessions to the kids!

In my function as director of the Barefoot Skateboarders Organization I also give talks. I’ve spoken at the “Girls, No Brides!” conference in Delhi where I adressed the gender inequality and I gave a motivational talk in ProtoVillage (100 km north of Bangalore) to young skateboarders. We have helped them to build a skatepark. It’s a beautiful village.

I also love to rap – it is my Dream to be a rapper! I’ve just “released” my first rap song “I’m THAT girl!” and soon it will be available in Hindi!

My motto is to learn from every place, every person and everything which is happening in my life!

My achievements in skateboarding

04/2021 Indian Championships in Chandigarh, Gold Medal
12/2019 Indian Championships in Vishakhapatnam, Gold Medal
12/2018 Indian Championships in Vishakhapatnam, Gold Medal
10/2018 Representing India at the World Championships in Nanjing, China
11/2016 Skateboarding with Nyjah Huston, the World Champion in Skateboarding
04/2016 Skateboarding Tour UK
Since 2018 I am teaching the young kids in Janwaar Skateboarding.