<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>It's really cool to be here in this space with such rad people who are doing similar work all over the world!&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>I'm Susie Halsell, from California, U.S.A., founder of Bangladesh Street Kids Aid (BSKA).</p>

<p>I've been skating since I was 12, was the only girl-skater in my town but the boy crew I skated with just treated me like one of the guys.&nbsp; Ever since I started skating, I thought it would be a great way to empower impoverished youth.&nbsp; I imagined myself teaching shoe-less kids on concrete slabs surrounded by greenery.&nbsp; Very much what I actually ended up doing!&nbsp; In 2007, my first trip to Bangladesh as just a 21 year old skater/surfer blew my mind.&nbsp; I saw the kids walking the street collecting recyclables, sleeping on piles of trash, huffing glue, cuts all over their forearms, all that gnarly stuff.&nbsp; Ever since, I have wanted to create a safe-haven for the children of Bangladesh who call the streets their home.&nbsp; The reaction of the youth in Bangladesh to skateboarding was out-of-control.&nbsp; They were so excited to try my skateboard wherever I went that I hardly got to skate the first few years I was in Bangladesh trying to figure everything out:&nbsp;learn the language, find land, etc.&nbsp; Through all my experiences over the past 12 years making trips back and forth between the U.S. and Bangladesh, I realized that a lack of education was the root cause of a lot of the socio-economic barriers that street children and other marginalized groups in Bangladesh face.&nbsp; It was obvious that skateboarding was a great way to boost their confidence, but I realized that combining skate and creative arts opportunities with a quality education&nbsp;would launch them into a much more hopeful future.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>I ended up pursuing my own higher education, studied Anthropoloy at BRAC University and the Bangla language&nbsp;in Bangladesh&nbsp;and took a Liberal Arts degree with a concentration in Business and Entrepreneurship&nbsp;from Antioch University Santa Barbara.&nbsp; I'm one of those life-long learners and am currently studying Social Business at California State University Channel Islands.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Just before the beginning of this summer, I&nbsp;was feeling pretty down about my project in Bangladesh even though things always seemed to be moving forward.&nbsp; I'd invested a lot of my own time and money for so long but felt like no one believed in what BSKA is doing like I did.&nbsp; After getting the Goodpush partnership, I finally feel like I found the support system I needed to just go for it full force.&nbsp; I am very grateful for this platform and can't wait to see the collaboration and knowledge sharing that goes on once we all get to know each other a bit better!</p>

<p>I was looking forward to skating with a lot of you at the upcoming Goodpush summit in South Africa,&nbsp;but I broke my tibia and fibula on my left ankle earlier this month during a ledge session.&nbsp; I'll still be giving a presentation on BKSA's current&nbsp;programs for street youth in Bangladesh and our plans to open a skate park, off-the-grid boarding school, and permaculture farm on the land we were graciously donated.&nbsp; I'll be the one with the crutches or hopefully cane by then!</p>

<p>Much love, peace, and all that good stoke!</p>
