Indigenous motivational speaker and hip-hop artist Kasp Sawan.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Kasp Sawan
January 16, 2022 - 8:39 AM
A Kamloops Cree Nation hip-hop artist and motivational speaker has recently been featured in a documentary about his life.
Kasp Sawan grew up in the foster care system in East Vancouver where he suffered abuse as he moved through 33 different homes before aging out of the system and moving to Penticton.
The documentary called The Road to Hope details Sawan’s inspiring journey from child abuse, to sobriety to musical success. Sawan has dedicated much of his life to serving aboriginal youth and Indigenous communities, sharing his message of hope and healing.
“I was approached by a local film company Askem Productions to apply for a grant worth $20,000 through Telus Storyhive,” he said. “We got the grant and did the filming for three or four months, the project finished at the end of 2020 and was released two weeks ago.”
Kasp Sawan's pitch video for the Telus Storyhive grant.
Sawan said he is using the documentary, and his hip-hop music, as part of his motivational talks and workshops. Prior to the pandemic, he was travelling around the country through his business called K.A.S.P. Entertainment which stands for Keeping Alive Stories for the People. He also works using the video conferencing platform Zoom.
“I still travel when I can but it is not always possible during this pandemic,” he said. “I speak about things like gang violence and addiction. We travel around to schools, remote communities and youth jails. I share my story about my dad being a drug addict and my experience with physical and sexual abuse.”
Kasp Sawan doing motivational speaking at a public school.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kasp Sawan
Sawan does hip-hop shows to help empower and inspire Indigenous youth and communities. He wants to help communities heal and preserve their cultural teachings.
“I show the youth that I come from nothing and am now doing what I am passionate about,” he said. “It takes hard work. To this day I’m still working on myself, life is a journey, not a destination. I show youth no matter what there is love and light. We have to keep moving forward like the buffalo.”
Sawan does two motivational tours throughout the year called Tradition Over Addiction and HOPE4 Nations. The former has a focus on music and spreads the message to youth to be proud of who they are. The latter focusses more on healing, team building and community.
“I know my story and my knowledge has helped many and will continue to help more,” Sawan said. “The gift the Creator gave me is to provide inspirational keynotes intertwined with the storytelling of my life.”
Sawan works part time with youth in Kamloops who have aged out of the foster care system and he helps teach them life skills.
“There were times growing up when I didn’t have food,” he said. “I was lost, hurt and afraid. When I aged out of the system I was lacking some important life skills.”
Sawan is the proud father of six children. He said his dad and grandfather grew up in the residential school system and were never given the tools or chance to be good parents. He works to facilitate community healing from intergenerational trauma caused by the schools.
“I am so grateful to have my kids and a family supporting what I do,” he said. “Being sober is a huge part of my life. I work to create healthy, positive pathways for youth and adults and to inspire them to know they have the power to do amazing things with their lives.”
The mini documentary is currently available on Telus Optik and will be released on YouTube in the future.
For more information contact Kasp Sawan here.
Find Kasp on his YouTube channel here.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2022