Raising women with disabilities up through shared stories
Shocked at the horrors of the Syrian refugee crisis, a young American mother is easing the burden for thousands of refugee families by donating thousands of baby carriers to people fleeing their war-ravaged homes. Through her now burgeoning charity Carry the Future, Cristal has not only helped refugees but also been personally transformed from a cynic to someone who is continually amazed by people’s genuine desire to do good in the world.
Parenting educator and author Maggie Dent has earned the love of a nation’s parents for her funny, practical and insightful advice on how to raise healthy and resilient children. What life path has Maggie travelled to become such an advocate for saving our stressed-out modern-day kids?
American dance instructor Lucy Wallace is transforming criminals serving long-term or life sentences by introducing them to the magic of dance. In doing so, she has forged powerful relationships with people she’d previously regarded with fear, had her preconceptions shattered, and discovered the beauty in regarding fellow human beings as they are, without the weight of judgement.
Carina Hoang fled South Vietnam in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, endured a traumatic escape from which she barely survived, and now returns to the Indonesian isles to which she once escaped on an annual pilgrimage to uncover the lost graves of other Vietnamese refugees. Guided by faith, spiritual belief and the knowledge it was so nearly her laying in an abandoned grave, her efforts are bringing desperately awaited relief to families yearning to give a proper burial to long-dead loved ones.
WA Australian of the Year for 2016 Anne Carey rose to fame for having the courage to volunteer to fight the ravages of the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone. She is now embarking on a new challenge – urging Australians to have the courage to be kind. She says it was courage that helped overcome Ebola, and it’s courage that can help stamp out two threats she sees facing Australia – the insidious culture of workplace bullying and discrimination against refugees.
Patricia Lavater has saved hundreds of lives through her work with troubled and drug-addicted young women. She takes women who’ve given up on life, and counsels them, helps them detox and, perhaps most importantly, reminds them of their inner potential.
Perth man Leif Cocks has dedicated his life to saving the orangutan through his not-for-profit charity The Orangutan Project. The battle has plunged him to the depths of despair as he has borne witness to the atrocities orangutans face. But it has also filled him with awe and delight for a creature with an enormous capacity for love.
When Karen Winnett’s daughter Eleanor was four months old she was advised her baby would unlikely live past two years old. Go home and love her while you’ve got the chance, she was advised. Or, worse, don’t get too attached as she won’t be with you for long. But this fiercely determined mother refused to listen. Through sheer grit, unflinching determination and steadfast denial Karen has kept her bright and intelligent daughter alive. This year Eleanor celebrated her 22nd birthday.
Jenny Bowen’s charity OneSky, formerly Half the Sky Foundation, has transformed the lives of more than 130,000 Chinese orphans by showering these unwanted children with the most important ingredient missing from their lives – love. How did one woman make such a difference to so many?
After enduring the death of her mother to cancer and brother to suicide, Sally Lucas was not prepared for her own cancer diagnosis and consequent hysterectomy. But thanks to the love of her sister Anne Barbour, she not only survived but flourished to become a mother – a dream she’d thought life had denied her.
This 18-year-old Brisbane model is turning the fashion world upside down by showing that true beauty comes from within, and this often-fickle industry is falling in love with her for offering the reminder.
The death of Karen Civello’s little brother as a child sparked a troubled life that sent her to the depths of drugs, alcohol, depression and cancer. But, through sheer strength of will Karen fought back to create a life characterised by wellness, nurturing and self-care.