“Skater Girl Asha” – an impressive story from India
Book by Ulrike Reinhard and Asha Gond
Asha Gond grew up in the small village of Janwaar in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. As an Adivasi, the self-designation of the country’s indigenous population, she belongs to the scheduled caste and lives at the bottom of society. Despite these unfavourable circumstances, the self-confident young woman will not be deterred from her path. The now 24-year-old escapes a forced marriage, leaves school and finds her very own passion: skateboarding. She showed such great talent that she competed for India in the 2018 World Championships. But it’s not just on the board that Asha achieves a lot: she catches up on her degree, takes on an important role in her village and becomes a role model for other young women – there and beyond.
Ulrike Reinhard created the skate park that changed Asha’s life so significantly. In “Skater Girl Asha”, she now tells her story and that of her friends Anil and Kumar. The book offers three things: a spectacular coming-of-age story, insights into a reality of life that is foreign to many of us, plus inspiration on what we can learn from it ourselves – personally and socially. It is therefore aimed at people who want to bring about big changes on a small scale, including young readers. It is available from 5 December 2023 at https://be-a-voice-not-an-echo.org/
(Ulrike Reinhard; Photo Credit: Aslam Sayid)
“Before the skatepark, I was completely different. I didn’t know my own voice. I couldn’t talk to anyone. I couldn’t even make eye contact with anyone. I never made my own decisions – my family decided what was good and what was bad for me. That changed completely when the skatepark came to my village. I found my voice. I’m on a long and bumpy road – but I’m taking on the challenges that come my way!”[Asha Gond]
(Asha Gond; Photo Credit: Tančič, Matjaž)
“Life is not always easy for Asha, because traditions don’t just disappear. So she is constantly faced with challenges, but today she has completely different perspectives on how to deal with them. She sees the world differently, she has managed to live her own life – with all its ups and downs.” [Ulrike Reinhard]
Info about the project:
In 2014, Ulrike Reinhard began building a skatepark in the small village of Janwaar in rural India. The people didn’t know what skateboarding was. The children quickly embraced this new space and made it their own. It was the beginning of an impressive transformation process – for the children and for the whole village. The project became known as The Barefoot Skateboarders, received several awards and was replicated in other places in India.
Barefoot Skaterboarders: https://youtu.be/O5pAzpwXr60?si=2WQY7fxJ-35SbRAo
With her rap song “I am THAT girl”, Asha gives a musical insight into her life.
More info here: https://filmfreeway.com/IamTHATGirl163