#Staying the Course

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Jaboya – fishing in dangerous waters

When Cavin Odera’s parents and oldest sister died of HIV/AIDS, he was mocked and discriminated against. This experience eventually triggered his willingness to empower girls and young women. So he created WA-Wa, to equip them with skills to earn sustainable livelihoods without falling victim to “sex for fish”, a common practice around the Lake Victoria. Wa-Wa trains this woman in everything about fishing, from tying nets, building boats, fishing on Lake Victoria, to fish farming in self-built ponds. More details about WA-WA can be found at: wawakenya.org/

Foto Credit: kanthari

We are here

Last Summer, as for 2021, Afghanistan was again everywhere in the news. The Taliban captured Afghanistan’s capital Kabul 20 years after they were ousted from power. Most of us, still remember the horrifying video, showing two people tragically falling down from a plane in Kabul, as they tied themselves to the wheels of the aircraft to fly out of the country, amid tension. My guest today comes from Afghanistan. Nematullah Ahangosh is an Activist, a Poet, and founder of Stretch More; a mobile empowerment parkour for the disable. By Stretch More, people with disabilities can empower themselves through survival skills, entrepreneurship, leadership and sports activities. Nemat is physically disabled and also a kanthari alumni, he just graduated. A few weeks back, as for december 2021, he had his dream speech which you can see at the youtube channel of the kanthari education center.

Grenzgängertum und die Verkürzung der Strecke

Hubert Maria Dietrich, one of the new commended Giraffe Hero, is a very nice, very straight guy. We all know, Giraffes are known to need a big and strong heart to pump the blood all the way to the head – Humadi’s heart full of helpfulness, attention and generosity is an impressive example.
We at the foundation call him Humadi, founded humanum, a people-to-people company that produces pioneering products for a better world with the following vision: “When everyone shares, no one is left empty-handed.” Today you’ll get to know Humadi. On the day he got his commendation, he talked to us at the foundation and also played some songs. Yes he is also a musician. His speech and performance was in german. So i’m apologising to my non-german speaking listeners with a promise. Soon I’m recording a Podcast with Humadi and you will get the chance to get to know him better. In the meantime, I kindly invite you to enjoy this speech and performance. To reflect and, why not, to philosophize a little with us. So please, lean back and enjoy Grenzgängertum und die Verkürzung der Strecke.

Breaking out of binary concepts

As children, gender bombards us in more ways than one – the clothes we wear, the toys we buy, the way we express ourselves…From the moment we’re born, our gender identity is no secret. We’re either a boy or a girl. We are pink or blue. Today I’m talking to a recent kanthari alumni: Niwas Kumar. For some children, what’s between their legs doesn’t match what’s between their ears — they insist they were born into the wrong body. They are transgender children, diagnosed with gender identity disorder, and their parents insist this is not a phase. My guest today has founded anantmool, a Gender-Free Learning Centre for children who are experiencing gender dysphoria.

Website: www.anantmool.org

VitaNetz – Podcast in German

Giraffe Hero Katharina Lehmann, a psychologist with her own practice, had a permanent position on the police force in Zürich. She could truly have had a quiet life. However, Katharina was not willing to compromise on the truth, stepped out of her comfort zone and put her employment and public reputation on the line. She co-initiated the VitaNetz Foundation. VitaNetz is building an innovative society that places health and the harmonious coexistence of humans, animals and nature at the center of its activities. This includes pesticide- and antibiotic-free agriculture, animal husbandry, solidarity-based economic management with its own monetary system, and a lot more. But listen to it yourself, today I’m bringing to you Katharinas speech at the headquarters of the Giraffe Heroes Foundation as a podcast.

More Infos: https://www.vitanetz.ch/

To hell and back

Violence against women in Zimbabwe is partly accepted as a fact of life, especially by elderly “counselors” that traditionally perceive women as the property of their husbands. My guest today Precious Kiwiti was known as a strong woman, running restaurants and catering services successfully, and starting a kindergarten for single mothers. But hardly anyone knew about her well-hidden tragedy. Precious recently completed the kanthari course in India and is now jumping into the practical part of her training. Now, she is about to head back to Zimbabwe to work with women and girls who have been affected by domestic violence. Her social venture “Precious Hearts Haven”, plans to work towards the elimination of gender-based violence.

This is the last Podcast of this Year 2021, we at the Giraffe Heroes Foundation, are hoping for more Giraffe-Nominations in the New Year and are wishing you all Hope, Love and Faith. May this coming year bless you with love, peace, and empowerment.

The Khoj

Dear listeners, are you looking to come out of your comfort zone? Are you ready to challenge your fears, for an adventure? Then get ready for the great Indian treasure hunt. today in our Podcast we are hunting a treasure in Kerala with my guest, kanthari participant, Abhilash John. Locked in a cage of constraints and expectations, Abhilash was not able to dream and follow his personal path. A street child helped him to challenge his fears, to set him free to explore his strengths and passions. Through his social venture, Khoj, he offers “the great Indian treasure hunt”, An adventurous journey for Indian youngsters to break out of their parent’s dreams.

Visit https://khojindia.in/ for more infos

Life is too important to get stuck

„Life is what you’re happy for getting up for.“ – if not, there is something wrong in your life”. Giraffe Hero Paul Kronenberg is cofounder of the kanthari program for social change makers in Kerala. About a year ago, we had the pleasure to listen to his partner Sabriye Tenberken on this podcast. Today we have Paul sharing his vast experiences and getting to know his attitude towards life. It’s a delight to listen to his very practical advice, entertaining anecdotes and certainly – I’m sure we can also try to take it in as an enhancer to overcome our comfort zones and start doing something, while starting to look. He uses wit and humor to mirror the true shape of the world that makes one think and reflect about what can or maybe must be done differently to become part of solutions.

Stand up and speak!

Akhina Mohan from Kerala India, plans to start alarmo, a youth driven, Kerala based task force that nudges people to act immediately. Nothing makes her more furious than the mistreatment and irresponsibility towards the environment. Participating in relief work during the 2018 Kerala floods, helped her to break out of her shell. Now, she knows, her actions can make a difference! The younger generation needs to realize that their planet is on fire, and together they have to start saving it.

Akhina is right now preparing her kanthari Talk which she is going to present, along with the other 15 participants on the 17th and 18th of December. If you want to get to know these 16 social change makers, make sure to note down these days. Visit https://www.kantharitalks.org/ for the livestream, and watch the participants from 8 countries, present their captivating life stories of resilience and hope.

www.alarmo.in

When time runs out…

“Allowing for the book, after all, being a parody, something like 1984 could actually happen. This is the direction the world is going in at the present time. In our world, there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement.” George Orwell. In today’s Podcast you get to have a deep theoretical and philosophical insight of the Giraffe Heroes Foundation. In our latest event, Giraffe Heroes foundation founder Tom Amatt, read from four authors who tried to give their compatriots a wake-up call as long as there was still time. And this is what he and the Giraffe Heroes Foundation team wants. To make a wakeup call to the society in these times of unprecedented changes in our natural and societal environment. The question is: is there still time now? The texts are extracted from René Guénon, The Crisis of the Modern World and George Orwell’s postscript to 1984. He also read Brave New World Revisited from Aldous Huxley and the End of Belzebub’s Tales to his Grandson by George Gurdjeff. I kindly invite to enjoy these passages. To reflect and, why not, to philosophize a little with us. So please, lean back and enjoy the reading.

We are proud to share every week inspirational stories from remarkable individuals. Stories that come from many different places. Each Giraffe’s story is unique with the underlying theme of overcoming challenges present in all. Take a look at each individual experience, and although each person is different, they all have one thing in common: Heroism. We want to hear your stories, too. If you’d like to tell us about your front-line hero, visit us at giraffe-heroes.eu.
You´ll find the Giraffe Heroes Stories every Tuesday on Spotify, iTunes, our Homepage and every other place, where you hear your podcasts
Join us again next week!