Harpz Kaur Interview – Dream Big Desi Women Campaign
- How has cricket helped you to dream big?
Cricket has helped me in many ways and played a huge part in my life growing up. My Dad took us to many matches and used to make us play in the school fields and even in the driveway using the wheely bin as the stumps!
It was a game I enjoyed that also taught me a lot too. It’s helped me understand that we can achieve anything we put our hearts to. And through this Dream Big Desi Women campaign, we can now help make those future cricket stars!
- Can you explain why you were so keen to work on this campaign with the England and Wales Cricket Board and what’s the main mission?
The Dream Big campaign is a great initiative put together by an incredible set of Desi women who are filled with so much passion. It’s a nationwide movement that wants to aspire over 2000 South Asian Females to become activators to help children to dream big through cricket! I’m an overly passionate and highly driven individual as it is, so to be asked to be on board for something like this – gives me an even bigger boost to help reach the target we are looking at. And I truly believe we can.
- What are the main issues that you are looking to address with the Dream Big Desi Women campaign?
We are wanting to help Desi Women to break boundaries and have the confidence to fulfill their dreams through sport. Cricket brings so many people together as it can be such a loud game, that it helps you gain so many other skills along the way. It’s not just about the bat and ball, it’s learning to work as a team, boosting your communication skills, building your confidence, and a great way to stay active too.
We are hoping to encourage more Desi women to come forward and volunteer to become a trained Activator and join hundreds of women from South Asian backgrounds to make a real difference to children and their communities.
- What would you say to the women that follow us in Alhambra Women’s Network that are interested in the help the campaign provides? How can they reach you?
I would encourage you to look at the future and the incredible things you could be a part of. Think of how many children’s lives you could change by helping them to have fun, build new skills and break boundaries through cricket. You could help create memories for future generations that will last a lifetime. We are looking for Desi women who can commit one hour per week and have the opportunity to pick from a variety of roles on offer. You will receive full face-to-face training and additional support every step of the way. You can find out more by visiting the website here.
- What methodology or tools did you develop in order to both empower and help women to dream big?
I want to encourage more women to follow their dreams and goals with confidence and to know I am now living proof of ‘’it can happen’’. A lot of the time Desi women are made to feel as though certain things are male dominated, or they don’t have the skill sets to do the job or it may not be something that looks good within the community. All those things need to stop because that’s how we lose our confidence. We all have the ability to achieve things we put our mindsets to. And for those reasons, I visited a lot of schools to do talks on how to achieve your dreams.
The best thing we can do is to help inspire future generations to dream big too. We can’t make decisions for them, but we can help them to understand things from our perspective and personal experiences. The biggest tool for me has been social media. Although it’s a very hit-and-miss world to be a part of, it’s also the way forward. I get asked questions everyday through my social media inbox and emails, but it gets difficult to reply to everyone individually, therefore I try to use my platform as much as I can to help answer some of those. I used to think it was always harder for Asian women to achieve big dreams, but I’ve grown to realise no dream is too big unless you tell yourself it is!
- What did it mean for you to be named the Best Radio Presenter of the Year 2019 at the Asian Media Awards?
It was a real shock! Although I know how hard my journey has been for me, and only I know how much hard work and effort has gone into it – the moment was still surreal. If anything, it made me feel as though all those years of grafting with very little income had paid off. I spent many years trying to chase my dream of becoming someone in the field that I work in, but it wasn’t an easy ride.
I spent many years even after graduating – trying to get the jobs I felt I needed under my belt. It was a long process, but I got there in the end. So, this award wasn’t about winning for me, it was more like a stamp of saying well done for everything you’ve been working so hard towards over the past 10 years. And for still being able to cope with the 4am wake-up calls! Ha!
- What was the most remarkable story or the moment you remember up to date that you lived in your career?
My journey has been filled with every emotion you can think of. From smiles to tears, joys to heartbreaks. Nothing comes easy, but when you’re passionate and determined to achieve those goals, nothing can stop you. I’ve had many moments along the way that I class as ‘’turning points’’ or ‘’highlights’’ of my career. But the one that stands out the most for me and has probably been the most remarkable achievement for me so far, was to break out into the mainstream world. I grew up looking for people that looked like me on screen. Even though there were some amazing people that managed to do it, there was never enough!
I worked hard to be where I am now, but the day I got the call to say my audition for a kids’ TV show was successful was the most remarkable moment. I was overwhelmed. Words cannot describe how absolutely crazy it is for me to now be able to say I’m a CBBC TV Presenter who wakes up kids on a Saturday morning – Live. I used to be the kid on the sofa on a Saturday morning watching things like Live and Kicking… and now I’m that person on the other side of that screen. I will always remember that call and the first day on set. I still have to pinch myself.
- Are there any future projects or plans that you can tell us about?
At the moment I’m juggling many jobs at once as the Radio and TV world is nonstop! But I am hoping to work on some other exciting things later down the line. But for now, my focus is on empowering Desi Women to come forward and join our campaign to help make a difference… together!
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