Kindness is Everything

This episode is a wonderful example of dedication and persistence making a positive impact. Kamilya Tulebaeva from Kazakhstan shares her inspiring story of how she moved her country to ban dolphinariums. It’s an incredible achievement and one you will definitely want to hear about. Here are links to the movies/documentaries Kamilya mentioned. Intraterrestrial. A Fleeting Contact: English version:...

Izzy Hirji wears many hats—wildlife vet, world traveller, photographer, conservationist, vegan, and television celebrity! He joins Anitha to share his incredible adventures as he follows his hero, Dr. Jane Goodall, in making the world a better place for all beings. Izzy begins the episode by talking about his childhood fear of dogs and how he not only over came that fear, but now travels the world...

Sabrina Fair Andronica joins Anitha to talk about being a children’s author and an animal lover, and how she combines these two parts of her life. In her books, Sabrina gently tackles subjects such as dealing with grief over the loss of a pet, animal testing, and misconceptions people have about certain breeds of dogs; in particular pitbulls. She visits schools in hopes of inspiring children to be...

An exciting start to 2023, Anitha talks to Jake Davis, a lawyer working to seek legal protection for non-human animals. Anitha met Jake at a conference about the plight of animals in captivity. The conference was hosted by Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS Elephant Sanctuary) and Jake was one of the speakers. Jake chats with Anitha about his journey from a child who loved animals, to now, us...

To celebrate the last episode of 2022, Anitha invited two special young guests to wish everyone Happy Holidays and a Wonderful New Year.

Like many people, the pandemic inspired Monique Monelle and her husband to take up a new hobby during lockdown. But their new ‘hobby’ was wonderfully unusual. They were inspired to rescue ex-battery hens. Monique talks about what it was like when the hens first arrived, how she and her husband take care of them when they’re not feeling well, and how she fell in love with their unique personalities...

Anitha is thrilled to celebrate the 50th episode of the podcast with Lauren Saville who is the manager for the Roots & Shoots program at the Jane Goodall Institute Canada. The goals of the Roots and Shoots program and this podcast are very similar—empowering and supporting youth who are making a positive difference for animals, people and the environment. Lauren talks about how this program has gr...

Twenty-one-year-old, Emily Redford from Ontario, Canada joins Anitha to talk about her experience caring for animals in different parts of the world. Emily has travelled to India, Hyderbad, Egypt, Panama and Greece to volunteer with local animal rescues. Though she is not ‘officially’ trained in animal health care, Emily is totally hands-on and assists with before and after surgery care, sedating...

Seventeen-year-old, Nikita Dhawan is on a mission to free Shankar, a lone African Elephant, from the Delhi Zoo. Shankar was only two years old when he was taken from his family and deposited into the Delhi Zoo. Now, 26 years old, Shankar has endured endless years of isolation and being chained for 17 hours a day. Nikita is determined to end Shankar’s suffering by having him live at a sanctuary in...

Dr. Vivek Basu fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a veterinarian— and what an incredible veterinarian he has become. Vivek donates a lot of his time and skills to help animals of all sizes, near and far. In addition to talking about what it's like to treat many different animals—dogs, cats, racehorses, rescued primates and wildlife, we also explore difficult subjects like trophy hunting and...

Spencer Hitchen from Noosa, Australia is dedicated to saving the last remaining Glossy Black Cockatoos. With Spencer’s help, these beautiful birds have finally been listed as Vulnerable under Australia’s Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Well done, Spencer!! This is such an inspiring story of how perseverance, passion and using your voice, can make a positive difference....

Chelsea Tanchip has a passion to help kids with disabilities. Though Chelsea and her family emigrated from the Philippines years ago, Chelsea found a way to stay connected with the country and follow her passion through an organization called A Child’s D.R.E.A.M. Foundation. This foundation, provides pediatric therapy for exceptional children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders, Autism...

Ten-year-old Isla Spisani talks to Anitha about the special way she has been celebrating her past few birthdays. As a thank you to Isla for sharing her story, Anitha donated to the Burlington Humane Society. To learn more about the Burlington Humane Society and the work they do to help animals, check out their website: https://burlingtonhumane.ca/

Superhero, Liam Wilson and Superstars, Will & Jada Finch, join Anitha to talk about a fundraiser they are all involved with—Superstars 2 Superheroes. This event takes place on July 10th in Milton, Ontario. The goal is to raise money for Sick Kids, a hospital located in Toronto, Ontario. Superheroes are children, like Liam, who have been or are patients of Sick Kids or hospitals in the surrounding...

At 12-years old, Cash Daniels is a celebrity. He was a top 5 honoree of Time Magazine’s Kid Of The Year. Cash talks to Anitha about all the initiatives he is involved in to help protect animals, the oceans, and the planet, including making Monofilament Receptacles to store used fishing lines and being the co-founder of The Clean Up Kids. Cash also talked about the tragedy scheduled to happen on Ju...

Fourteen-year old Lilly Platt’s journey into climate activism began in 2015 when they and their grandpa went on a walk in their neighbourhood and decided to count the amount of plastic they saw. Lilly was shocked by the results—so much plastic in such a small area. This was the incentive to create Lilly’s Plastic Pick Up. Lilly talks to Anitha about this initiative and other actions they have take...

Molly Hucker began her journey into climate activism in 2019 when she attended her first Climate Strike. Since then, her involvement continues to soar. Molly talks to Anitha about her journey from organizing a climate strike to becoming involved in a project, whose mandate is to include learning about climate change in all aspects of education! A great episode for anyone who cares about our planet...

A lovely story about selfless love. Kimberly Chiang joins Anitha to talk about fostering dogs. She talks about what inspired her to foster dogs, how she manages the heartache of saying goodbye when they leave for their forever home, and so much more. You can follow the wonderful dogs Kimberly fosters on Instagram @fosterborks As a thank you for sharing her story, Anitha donated to A Purposeful Res...

Another awesome sibling duo join Anitha to share their story of Kindness. Ten-year old John Paul and eight-year old Juliana founded Stuffies 4 Smiles. What started out in 2019 as a gesture of kindness to a homeless person and their dog has grown into a movement of kindness. In the past three years, John Paul and Juliana have collected stuffed animals, books, backpacks, handmade cards for people an...

or the past two years, the pandemic has created much havoc throughout the world, but for one young person, the lockdown brought a silver-lining. Fourteen-year-old Savannah Allen from Adelaide, South Australia shares her story of having to lockdown near a petting zoo. Savannah and her family soon realized that the baby lambs they had come to know and love had a terrible fate awaiting them, as often...

Eleven-year-old Ella Grace joins Anitha to kick off Season Two of the Kindness Is Everything Podcast. Ella’s journey to protect oceans and sharks began when she was four years old and has kept growing. In this jam-packed episode, Ella shares her dedication and knowledge about oceans and the beautiful animals who live there. In addition to her Ella Saves The Ocean project, she has teamed up with a...

t’s hard to believe that Season One of the Kindness Is Everything podcast is over. It has been lovely to hear so many stories of kindness, and to carry forward that kindness by donating to various charities. In 2021, the podcast shared 34 stories and donated $1400 to charities. Here’s hoping Season Two will be as successful! To thank everyone for their support, Anitha is joined by a special guest...

A perfect episode to celebrate the holiday season. Sixteen-year-old Jeffrey Wall returns to share another story of kindness. He adopted all 125 residents of a nursing home for the holidays. He talks to Anitha about this wonderful initiative and how he went about ensuring all the residents would receive a gift this holiday season. As a thank you to Jeffrey for sharing his story, Anitha adopted one...

Twenty-two-year old Sofia Villatoro shares her heart-warming story of adopting two dogs from a rescue located in California called I Stand With My Pack Sofia takes us from the moment she and her family learned about Rusty and Sailor, to the initial meet and greet, to how they are all doing now. She and Anitha also talk about the unfair and negative perception people have of pit bulls. As a thank y...

In 2013, twelve-year old Melati Wijsen and her ten-year old sister, Isabel were inspired by a lesson they had in school about significant people such as Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Ghandi. Melati and Isabel decided they too wanted to do something to make a difference, and from this desire was born BYE BYE PLASTIC BAGS. The organization has grown within Bali and across the world. Anitha was delighte...