Qilin-Giraffes – The Podcast to Restore your Faith in Humanity

kanthari alumni Aparna Gopan and Ruangtup Kaeokamechun (Ruang) do an amazing job in questioning taboos – talking about the things we’re taught not to talk about and therefore giving, especially children, an important tool to get information. Aparnas “Elephant in the room” in India and Ruangs “Little Firefly” in Thailand are dealing with taboos in their societies. In our very touching conversation...

Thousands of farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana, are staging a sit-in protest along Delhi borders. The farmers are demanding a complete rollback of the new farm reform laws and a guarantee on the Minimum Support Price system being retained. In today´s Podcast Giraffe Hero Dilip Simeon is giving us a thorough evaluation on the farmer’s protest in New Dehli. The movement, which is ongoing f...

Yoshimi connects books to people and people to books. After the kanthari scholarship, she started “Always Reading Caravan”, a unique nonprofit that brings books, fun, and hope to rural communities in Northern Thailand. A mobile library for children and adults, both with, and without disabilities in rural Thailand, founded by a Japanese woman who happens to be blind. For Yoshimi, books are importan...

People with albinism have been persecuted, killed and dismembered, and graves of albinos dug up and desecrated in some eastafrican countries. At the same time, people with albinism have also been ostracised and even killed for exactly the opposite reason, because they are also presumed to be cursed and bring bad luck. In today's Podcast I'm talking with Jane Waithera about her experience with albi...

Sristi Foundation was founded by Karthikeyan, known as Karthik, a psychologist born and raised in Pondicherry generally known as 'Pondy' situated on the East Coast of India. Karthik, a 2012 kanthari graduate spent 15 years in an inclusive orphanage where disabled and non-disabled children lived and grew up together. The projects Kartik has founded with Sristi Villiage are absolutely admirable. Lis...

Social Changemaker and kanthari alumni Faruk Musema explains us his concept of reverse inclusion. As an inclusive sports coach for children with disabilities at the Gulu Disabled Persons Union, Faruk is a passionate sports man and social change maker in his community in Northern Uganda. He is also passionate about sports and has set himself a goal: Ability Sports Africa (ASA) empower children and...

Kanthari alumni Kapila Rasnayaka promotes a genderless society. Not sure, what’s that about? Kapila explains: “Genderless means just representing yourself as you, without masculinities and feminities – it means you’re free to fly, anywhere…” A great joy talking to Kapila, who gives us a 360° insight of his vision and engagement to promote gender equality and create a genderless society. Join Kapil...

Human rights activist and commended Giraffe Hero Jaz O’Hara founded „The Worldwide Tribe“ in a bid to highlight the humanity behind world issues and inspire positive social change. She is uplifting refugee voices and celebrating human differences. Founded in 2015, the Worlwidetribe has grown into an organisation and online community which raises awareness about the refugee crisis whilst also suppo...

Ojok Simon is from Uganda. The 2012 kanthari graduate, is a beekeeper, an environmentalist, a human rights activist and also almost blind. At age thirteen, Ojok survived an armed attack to his village that led to his blindness. But also made Hive Uganda possible. Enjoy listening about Ojoks activities and how he has managed to create a sustainable enterprise with wild beekeeping for the blind peop...

Trevor Molife, founder of the organization Purple Hand Africa is giving us a broad insight about how life might be for someone forming part of the LGTBQI community in Zimbabwe. Note, that this topic comes with traumatic stories – which makes it not less important to listen to his, on the contrary, one should raise attention and get engaged. To embrace each and everyone, no matter their gender or s...

With Sristi KC, founder of Blind Rocks! in Nepal one can really feel the vibe and what she wants to transmit with her organisation. One of her most important statements: There should be more of us all around the world dancing, more blind people who rock the world, so people can see us and realise that we're just as able to do so instead of making us feel disabled and marginalised. Sristi is a danc...

We have great respect for today's giraffe - someone who literally stuck his neck out when being imprisoned, without having done nothing. We know these things happen - yet it seems so incredible at the same time. In today's talk we get an insight on what it's like to bear this destiny and at the same time, what lessons it can teach. Since it is a very complex story, we talked several times and for...

Tony Joy is doing impressive work in Nigeria. With her organisation Durian, she's helping out the most marginalized people in rural areas, transforming the image and comprehension of rural equals poor and marginalized towards rural is creative and cool. How she's managing to do this, she explains in a very straight forward, precise way in today’s podcast. Tony Joy is showing women a way to succeed...

In todays Podcast Abhijit Sinha is making a clear point: coming from a high education system doesn't automatically mean that it's teaching you how to make the right choices, regarding humanity. The kanthari alumni is introducing us to Project DEFY. Project DEFY is helping communities in India to create their own schools, using Nooks, learning spaces to enable the participants to look themselves on...

A kanthari is a plant that grows wild in every backyard of Kerala, a small but very spicy chili with a number of medicinal values. A kanthari is also a symbol for those who have the guts to challenge harmful traditions and the status quo, who have fire in their belly and a lot of innovative ideas to make a positive difference. In today’s Podcast I´m talking to Giraffe Hero Sabriye Tenberken. In 19...

“If we manage to get a stable ocean, there won’t be so many drastic climate changes and we will all look at a brighter future”. Giraffe Hero Aki Allagholi put up an organisation: coralive.org, a small NGO doing everything to protect, manage and restore coral reefs. How he got to that point, what it takes to restore a coral reef and how to become part of it, he explains in a very detailed, yet easy...

Today's episode is sort of a special, since you get to listen personally to the one who started with the whole idea of nominating people sticking their necks out almost forty years ago. With Ann Medlock the Giraffe Heroes Project was born. Ann talks in this Episode about COVID-19, the situation in the United States shortly before elections take place and of course about the Giraffe Heroes Project....

Cosco, the artist, explorer and social activist. When he landed himself in the Alpujarras well over a decade ago, among others he learnt about natural horse keeping. And soon he learnt about the bees and the problems with pesticides down in the low-lands; and that they recovered in the natural highlands where no industrial planting had reached yet. From there it was only one further step for him t...

Chris is an educator and researcher in sustainability issues with a special interest in how today’s separation of people from nature is affecting their ability to cope with conflict, this especially with a view to younger generations. And he has developed methods to remedy this situation by reengaging us with nature. With the help of our ongoing crowd-financing campaign Giraffes fighting for Clima...

Todays podcast is taken our look to a green desert– meaning an area without diversified culture – meaning no food for insects to survive. Hendrik Haers, my guest today, is living in the centre of a village built in such a green desert – where there’s hardly any ground left that the village autorities don’t sell for building. Therefore Henrik decided to gather all his power to plant as much trees a...

The Giraffe we want to introduce you to today is Dimi. Dimi is a filmmaker who has produced several documentaries on shoestring budgets. About his most recent one, which is still in the making Not your bee, he will give some fascinating insights in this talk. He’s asking the right questions, like who do insects belong to and what might be the consequence of this possessive idea men tend to have ab...

Did you know you can train a dog as a beekeeper? Did you know that the bees need your help? What is the connection between the Bees and COVID-19? In today’s Episode Tom Amatt is talking with André Wermelinger, founder and leader of the NGO Free the Bees, Fribourg, Switzerland. He’s also a Giraffe Hero and will be talking among other things, about what could be a solution regarding todays bee keepi...

This podcast reveals the story about the origin of the Giraffe Heroes Foundation. What’s the organisations goal – who are those Heroes, the so called “Giraffes”? Listen to the pilot of our new podcast series “Stick your neck out!” The weekly podcast of the Giraffe Heroes Foundation. In this Episode you get insights from the Founder Tom Amatt and get to know the particular vision this NGO has. We w...