Interview with Rick Archer and Robin Chaurasiya: published 22 November 2022 on batgap.com
Robin Chaurasiya was born and raised in the US with a very religious and schizophrenic mother as well as a violent and atheist father. At 14, Robin started volunteering with various non-profit organizations and travelling the world, two lifelong passions which led her to work with dozens of NGOs and travel to nearly 100 countries.
After spending several years in the US Air Force, Robin was kicked out for being lesbian which led to her new life as an activist. At 24, she started Kranti, an NGO that empowers survivors of trafficking and daughters of sex workers from Mumbai’s red-light areas, where she lived and worked for a decade.
At 25, Robin moved to India to start Kranti, an NGO that empowers survivors of trafficking and daughters of sex workers from Mumbabi’s red-light areas, where she lived and worked for a decade. Robin has received numerous awards for her work, including the French &
German Human Rights Award as well as being a Finalist for the $1 million Global Teacher Prize.
In 2020, Robin moved to a mud hut at 13K feet in the Himalayas without any water, electricity or toilet. For over a year, she wasn’t online, didn’t read any books and didn’t speak with anyone. In July 2021, she started working part-time from the mountains and became a certified BatGap addict. She returned to civilization in August 2022 and will return to the mountains (temporarily) in January 2023!