We were strangers when we met. You so tiny and vulnerable. Me so open, exposed and responsible. But then your blue eyes locked with mine, and our worlds collided and morphed into one. There was no distinction of where you started and where I ended. No way of telling whose heart rested in whose hands Read More

When I think of you Dad, I’m overwhelmed with love, but not just any kind of love. A pure love that is forgiving, limitless, unconditional and shared with no expectation of return or exchange, because simply put, you loved us and you loved life like no other. As a little girl, people would remark that Read More

Italo folds her legs and covers them with her long skirt. Her bare feet are charred and rough. Her skin looks dry and cracked. Her running nose shows how she braved the chilly morning to make it to school. Nareiyo, the school cook, pushes some pieces of wood around in the open fireplace. They both Read More

I remember when I was at high school, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to past graduates returning to share their stories of how they had shaped their lives after leaving school. I remember feeling excited at the possibility of all that awaited me. Some 15 years later, I was invited to return to my high school Read More

My friends are often jealous because they think I travel a lot. I have pinned 314 cities in 40 countries on my travel map, marking the cities that I have visited. But still, some people are travelling more than me. I don’t feel that I travel that much, so I keep travelling. I just can Read More

Rose Sexton is a death doula who lives in Mount Beauty in Victoria. She supports those who are dying and those who are living to live a more conscious life. Carolyn: Hi Rose. Can you tell me about what a death doula is and why you were drawn to this role?   Rose: Death doulas Read More

Motherhood. It wasn't something that I had ever really pictured for myself. When I was a little girl, I didn't dream of a big white wedding or of having my own brood. I was probably too absorbed in my own world - first, running around imagining the ghosts and witches that inhabited the farm where Read More

In 2013, I started OIC Cambodia — an initiative to build speech therapy as a profession in Cambodia. Back then, the scope of the problem was so large that I couldn’t walk away from it. Now, I’m about to hand over leadership. Stepping back from OIC, the organisation I founded, will be bittersweet, but this move isn’t Read More

Shiva’s story begins on the island of Fiji, in the poverty stricken town of Ba and it’s no coincidence that his upbringing has influenced the direction of his life, as well as his drive to make a meaningful difference. Here he shares his story, from humble beginnings to big ambitions – all in the hope Read More