Kindness is Everything

Derek Walter’s life took a dramatic turn when his then partner, Steve Jenkins brought home a tiny little pig named Esther. Derek talks to Anitha about how this small being created huge and wonderful changes in his life.
Derek quickly fell in love with Esther, became one of her two dads, moved from a suburb to the country so Esther could have all the space a pig needed, welcomed even more farm animals, and eventually co-founded Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary (HEEFS)
This is an incredible conversation about love, family, community, grief, and an unbelievable legacy.
To learn more about Derek and HEEFS, please check out these links:
Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary
http://www.happilyeveresther.ca
Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/happilyeveresther?mibextid=LQQJ4d
Derek’s personal website
www.derekwalter.ca
Derek’s personal Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/EsthersDadDerek?mibextid=LQQJ4d
Esther the Wonder Pig Website
www.estherthewonderpig.com
As a thank you to Derek for sharing his story, Anitha donated to HEEFS. Having volunteered at HEEFS and seeing firsthand the beautiful and healing place it is for both the residents and the folks who spend time there, Anitha was thrilled to support this organization.

Kaila and Waian, the incredible sisters who created The Original Surfers, join Anitha to talk about their initiative to reach out to teens and raise awareness to protect oceans and the marine animals who live there.These amazing young women also share what it’s like working with a sibling and much more!
To learn more about The Original Surfers, please click on the following links:https://www.theoriginalsurfers.com/https://www.instagram.com/theoriginalsurfers/
As a thank you to Kaila and Waian for sharing their story, Anitha donated to the Dolphin Project, a non-profit charitable organization, dedicated to the welfare and protection of dolphins worldwide. It was founded by Richard (Ric) O’Barry on Earth Day, April 22, 1970. The goal of this organization is to educate the public about captivity and, where feasible, retire and/or release captive dolphins.
To learn more about Dolphin Project, please check out their website: https://www.dolphinproject.com/

Thirteen-year-old Justin Sather joins Anitha to talk about his love for one of Earth’s smallest beings—frogs. Justin shares how a children’s book and a childhood blanket inspired Justin to clean up his community's wetland, and how that project has grown to cleaning up rivers and oceans, protecting acres of rainforest and collaborating with other young people from all over the world.
A truly incredible episode about how one person can create a movement to bring about great change.
To learn more about Justin, check out these links: WEBSITES: www.JustinsFrogProject.com Parallel Projectswww.TheParallelProjects.com
And his newest website going live on Earth day:www.recreate.world
SOCIAL MEDIA: @justinsfrogproject- instagram J ustin Sather– facebook
T o support Justin’s projects, please click on the following links: MILLION LETTERS CAMPAIGN: Join the Million Letters Campaign
DONATIONS: Justin's main Go Fund Me Campaign:Go Fund Me Kid Hero Campaign (Funds collected through this campaign are sent directly to projects Justin is working on to protect the rainforest and waterways.
Projects such as, Parallel Projects and Team Trees)
Or you can donate Directly to Reserva Rainforest in Colombia- Justin
As a thank you to Justin for sharing his story, Anitha donated to the Reserva Rainforest Project.

Anitha is joined by M.O. Yuksel and Omar Abed, two creators who write books for children. In addition to talking about their amazing books, M.O. and Omar share their thoughts about the role of a children’s author when actual children in the world are being harmed. It’s an honest conversation about an important issue.
To connect and learn more about these incredible authors, please click on the links below.
For M.O.·
Instagram: @moyuksel.author X: @mo_yuksel
For Omar·OmarAbed.com· Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/omarabedwrites· Twitter:http://twitter.com/omarabedwrites
There are many groups posting about what's happening in Palestine, but one both M.O. and Omar are a part of is KidLitSoul. To find out what this group is sharing, check out their Instagram account:https://www.instagram.com/kidlitsoul/
As a thank you to M.O. and Omar, for sharing their stories, Anitha donated to MECA For Peace. MECA, which stands for The Middle East Children’s Alliance is a non-profit organization working for the rights and the well-being of children in the Middle East. To learn more about this group and the work they are doing, please check out their website:https://www.mecaforpeace.org/

Anitha chats with Rainbow Mosho, an incredible artist on the autism spectrum.
Rainbow uses her art and her voice to raise awareness about issues such as autism, endangered animals and vitiligo.
Her art has been exhibited in Dubai, Beijing, Belgium, NYC, LA, Miami, Tennessee.
Her thoughts: " Autism Acceptance is an opportunity to share about the marvels and challenges faced by incredible beings like me. We are staying put. We belong. We break barriers. Join us by reminding others about it ."
To learn more about Rainbow and see some of her beautiful artwork, check out her social media sites:
RainbowMosho | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok |
As a thank you to Rainbow for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Eco Evie, another young person who shared their story on the podcast. Evie has a cool clothing line called Eco Evie which is made from recycled water bottles.To learn more about Eco Evie, check out episode 61 as well as the following links:https://www.instagram.com/ecoevie/https://ecoevie.com/

Many of us see and walk past folks who live in parks, street alcoves and under bridges, but rarely do we stop. Anitha's guest, Lorraine Lam, not only stopped, she wanted to help.Lorraine chats with Anitha about the homeless crisis and her involvement in finding a solution.
Here are some action points for listeners who want to get involved in trying to solve the housing crisis.

• Follow social media accounts of people and organizations that are directly engaged in this work
• Look for local groups in your city that are engaged in direct outreach and systems advocacy and look for ways to dive in!
• Host a conversation with your friends about things you have learned and questions you may have
• Look for your local councillor, MP, MPPs voting history on issues related to housing and homelessness, and contact them with your concerns. Develop this relationship; have ongoing dialogue

To learn more about Lorraine and/or support her endeavors to help the homeless community, check out her website: https://lorrainelam.me/about
As a thank you to Lorraine for being a guest on the podcast, Anitha donated to All Saints Toronto. This organization supports folks by providing a space of belonging and hope. They offer services such as counselling, advocacy, and nursing care.
To learn more about All Saints, click here: https://allsaintstoronto.com/

Anitha was over-the-moon star struck to chat with the incomparable Gene Baur. Gene is the founder of the Farm Sanctuary, an animal advocate, author and so much more. He has been on shows such as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Larry King Live, and now The Kindness Is Everything podcast!
Gene talks about his incredible journey from doing commercials to promote companies like McDonalds and KFC, to advocating for the shutdown of factory farms. Animals are forced to endure tortuous conditions at factory farms and these places supply companies like McDonalds and KFC.
Despite all the unkind treatment to animals Gene has witnessed, he is still optimistic about the future of animal welfare. He shares how he’s helped bring in legislation to end such cruel practices as gestational crates.
He also shares the amazing rescue story of Hilda the sheep. She was Farm Sanctuary’s first rescue.
As a thank you to Gene for sharing his story, Anitha donated to Farm Sanctuary. This sanctuary provides shelter to more than 400 rescued cows, pigs, turkeys and other farm animals. Farm Sanctuary helps animals used and abused by the animal agriculture industry through rescue, education and advocacy.
Anitha is looking forward to personally visiting the sanctuary this summer. To learn more about Farm Sanctuary, please check out their website or follow them on IG.
https://www.farmsanctuary.org/ https://www.instagram.com/farmsanctuary

With issues such as climate change, food insecurity and animal welfare all related to/caused by the animal agricultural industry, Anitha is thrilled to continue her discussion around veganism. Anitha is joined by Kelly Chianciola and her two lovely daughters, Dani and Lana.
All three talk about their decision to become vegan and how it has impacted their lives. They also tackle questions like—Why don’t parents/caregivers want children to know how the animal they are eating lived and died? Why so much secrecy?
Please check out this episode for an open and interesting discussion around veganism and animal agriculture. As a thank you to the Chianciola family for being guests on the show, Anitha donated to Unity Farm Sanctuary. This vegan sanctuary, located in Sherborn, Massachusetts, provides lifetime care for animals in need. To learn more about Unity Farm, please check out their website: https://www.unityfarmsanctuary.org/
To learn more about Kelly, Dani and Lana, check out their Instagram account. It’s full of fun and cool information, such as recipes that kids love to make and eat, and facts about animal welfare. https://www.instagram.com/thatwylievegan/

A bit late for Veganuary, but never a bad time to talk about health, animal welfare and all things vegan. Devorah Bowen joins Anitha to talk about journey from becoming a vegan to her incredible social media account, The Yummy Vegan.
They also delve into topics such as, where do vegans get their protein, why are there vegan-haters, the diabolical yet ingenious marketing of the dairy industry and of course delicious, healthy, full of protein and easy to make plant-based meals.
To check out some delicious and easy to make plant-based recipes, check out: Devorah’s Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/theyummyvegan/ Devorah’s website: https://theyummyvegan.com/about
And for those of you who love comforting soups and stews, you’ll definitely want to check out her column—Best of Vegan The Art of Soups & Stews
As a thank you to Devorah for coming on to the podcast, Anitha donated to Operation Liberation. This charity is dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating and finding permanent homes for non-human animals and providing humanitarian relief and assistance to people in low income, at risk- or disaster-stricken regions.
o learn more about Operation Liberation, please check out their website: Operation Liberation

For the first episode of 2024, Anitha chats with educator and education and equity consultant, Rabia Khokhar.
Spurred by her desire to showcase diverse stories, Rabia created Rabia Reads, her Instagram account where she recommends picture books with diverse main characters. Anitha and Rabia chat all about books, including her current favourite book. Hair Oil Magic by Anu Chouhan
If you’d like to learn more about what Rabia’s reading check out her Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/rabia_reads/
Authors/publishers interested in submitting a book to Rabia for a review can contact her through her Instagram account or by email: [email protected]
As a thank you to Rabia for sharing her story, Anitha donated to North Toronto Cat Rescue, the only No-kill, No-cage shelter in the GTA. This volunteer run, registered charity is committed to rescuing, rehabilitating, and re-homing ailing and abused stray cats and kittens. To learn more about this rescue, check out their webpage: https://www.northtorontocatrescue.com/