So This Is My Why

Benjamin Von Wong is Canadian mining engineer turned social artivist/photographer who designs campaigns around social impact and has succeeded in raising over 100 million views for different causes including plastics, fast fashion and electronic waste. He has a Guinness Book Record, a community of over 500,000 followers and tries to change the world through amplifying positive impact. Who is Benja...

Rabi Chandra Malla is the founder of KOLPA - a social enterprise based in Kathmandu, Nepal that aims to promote sustainable & exclusive handmade goods produced by various indigenous communities from across the country (including the nomadic Raute tribe!). Who is Rabi Chandra Malla? Rabi was born in Bhaktapur and grew up in Kathmandu, Nepal.  Having spent his formative years in a boarding schoo...

Barbara Woolsey is a Canadian freelance journalist currently based in Berlin, Germany and our guest for Episode 8 of the So This Is My Why podcast.  Who is Barbara Woolsey? Barbara Woolsey was raised on the Canadian prairies in a culturally-vibrant family. She is of Filipino, Scottish and Irish heritage - a unique background that meant that she was quite unlike anyone else she knew while growing u...

Jan Wong is a Forbes 30 Under 30, Malaysian serial entrepreneur, youth advocate & founder of OpenMinds - a data-driven martech company he bootstrapped for 8 years & generates millions in revenue with offices in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong and at one point, Kazakhstan! Jan’s entrepreneurial spirit was present from a very young age.  He pursued an IT course at University College of Te...

Ashley Dean is a South African dancer and a First Artist at the Royal Ballet in London, which is the premier ballet company in the UK.  I was just blown away by her love & talent for dancing, her grit, her bravery in dropping out of school at the age of 15 in pursuit of that dream, her love of family and unwavering trust & faith in God no matter what came her way.  Ashley, I’m in awe of yo...

Being in a quartet is like being in a marriage, says Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, violist and founding member of the world renowned award-winning Dover Quartet & our guest for Episode 5 of the So This Is My Why Podcast.  Holding dual citizenship in the US and the Netherlands, Milena considers herself to have grown up “a little bit of everywhere” including in Oxford (UK), Baltimore and Jacksonvi...

Today’s guest is Sara Holden and she, well, has been shot, strangled, bludgeoned, suffocated & died in pretty much every imaginable way possible on the big & small screens!  Sounds crazy? Not at all. She’s pretty used to it, given her career as a Hollywood stunt actress! A quick look at her IMDb profile will reveal an impressive CV with appearances in I’m Your Woman, Batwoman, General Hosp...

Dr Julian Tan is the Head of Digital Business Initiatives & Esports in Formula 1 (London), and someone I got to meet while studying in the UK. Perhaps a little selfishly, I’ve loved how this podcast gives me the “excuse” to reconnect with old friends and Julian is definitely one of them. You’ll find out soon enough because my goodness, there is just soo much to unpack from our conversation! We...

Today’s guest is Red Hong Yi – a Malaysian architect turned full-time artist known for painting without a paintbrush! One of the sweetest, friendliest and most talented people I know and am privileged to call a friend. 🙂  You might have heard of her or seen her work displayed somewhere, whether in publications like the  South China Morning Post ,  Straits Time ,  Prestige , artventures with  Mits...

WARNING: The content gets slightly graphic when discussing the realities of poaching in South Africa. Our guest for today is Chloe Buiting – an Australian vet & wildlife conservationist who grew up in Lord Howe Island, Australia. She knew from a young age that she wanted to dedicate herself to protect wildlife and ended up going to veterinary school. One of her more interesting placements was...

Hello everyone! I'm Ling Yah, the host & producer of the So This Is My Why podcast. A show featuring a range of inspiring people every week about their WHY journey.  This trailer episode gives a sneak preview of what to expect in the STIMW podcast and the questions asked including: their childhood; the decisions they made  how they first got started;  their successes and failures; whether...