Ep#86 Aunua Global: A Stage to Shine for the Youth | Karina Murray | Empowering Family Health

Karina Murray founded AUNUA (A new you), initially as a personal development program for women. Her focus shifted after feeling disheartened by the lack of resources and uncertainty facing children. It became Karina’s compelling mission to help children which developed into many projects including Aunua Global. 

Karina shares her story, her vision, and her hope for the future in this powerful interview.

Karina's mission is to improve awareness and mental health and well-being of the youth today. Aunua Global, a social impact enterprise, provides a stage for the youth to shine and share their message to the world. Tune in to this powerful interview to learn more about Aunua Global and how you can help empower the youth!

Contact Karina here: https://www.aunuaglobal.org/

Free Audiobook Trial
Get How To Get A Good Night's Sleep Audio for FREE with a 30-day free trial

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

Karina Murray (00:00)
how the importance of parenting roles, I know that this is, you know, this podcast is all about parenting. It's all about how to support your children best. I just wanted to say a couple of things about that. Like I know from my own children, the importance that, it really is so important to have a good, the best relationship you can have. I know no matter how bad the day is and no matter what challenges you're going through.

And it's really, really important to take that time and just spend it with the kids and really listen to what they're going through, because energy in a home is so important.
 
Johann Callaghan 
Just a little taster of what is coming up on the show. But first, please do like this video and subscribe to the channel and also tell your friends and family about this podcast. Please let us know in the comments if you would like to hear any particular topic in relation to sleep or health, then I will create a show especially for you just for asking the question. So let's get on with the show.

Before we start today's video, please be sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don't miss out on any new videos. 

Hello everybody again and you're very, very welcome back to a very exciting Empowering Family Health podcast. Today on the show, I have an incredible guest, Corina Murray. And my God, I am so excited to speak to Corina today. She's all about the youth and empowering them. Let me read out Corina Murray's bio before we...

get started and dive into our conversation. Karina Murray is the founder and director at Aunua Global. It's a social impact enterprise. She's an entrepreneur, philanthropist, a youth advocate. Oh my God, she's an innovator, what else? An advocate and ambassador. And her mission and the mission of Aunua Global is to improve awareness and understanding of mental health and wellbeing for the youth of today. And at Aunua Global, you...

provide, Aunua Global provides a stage for the youth to shine and share their message to the world. my God, I'm already inspired. Aunua, Karina, you're very welcome to the podcast. It's great to be with you again, Joanne. It's been a while and yeah, I've been following what you're doing as well. So think that the work you do is amazing. It's so important, you know. So I think we go back a bit now. We would have done some.

You would have been done some talk with the new at one stage as well. It's some videos on your platform. People can view that on YouTube. on your platform. know, know I've worked many years ago. Yeah, we worked together and we've known each other for a number of years now. But, you know, sometimes relationships can kind of part and then we come back together again. And you popped up on my my social media feed a few weeks ago and I got it.

The work that Karina is doing, really need to have her on this podcast because this podcast is all about empowering families, empowering parents and children. And my God, this conversation today that we're going to have is all about creating this awareness and this understanding of mental health and well-being for the young people, for our children. And what a topic because we are faced with a lot of adversity.

There's a lot of suffering and struggling that families and children are encountering these days, and especially after post pandemic as well. mean, whatever we've had before that, but there's a lot. I know the suicide rates are through the roof, mental health, it's through the roof and it's getting worse. It's not getting better. So, Karina, we're going to have a conversation today that will hopefully help to shed a light on this topic and really help to empower people that there is a choice, there is something that you can do.

inside your family. before we dive in, Karina, I'm really curious. Tell the audience a little bit about your background and why you are all these amazing things, you know, stand for the youth and families. Yeah, I suppose going back, you know, really like, you know, it's quite incredible what you can actually do and what you can make possible. Like everything starts with a seed of an idea. And, you know, suppose I spent nine years at home with my two children in that safety bubble of parenting.

never wanting to leave that bubble. And it was really quite incredible during those years, really spending that time with my kids really taught me more than anything else. And the children do teach us the biggest lessons and the most things ever than anybody else. So my little guides have been my inspiration along, now they're 11 and 15, my two children. And it's amazing. think.

really where everything started with was, you know, I suppose my children were, you know, were my life at that time. And I suppose coming out of that bubble, I realized from when I started school at five, I needed to reinvent myself. And that was kind of, you know, one that's kind of tough to get through because obviously you're trying to figure out, okay, where do I go from here after that long break? And how do I reinvent myself? What do I do? So I suppose starting out, I

thought I needed to go on a personal development journey for myself to discover myself again, because then you lose a lot of that. I as a parent, your child, your children consume your time and attention and you do really kind of, you know, and you're so caught up in that world and that, you know, eventually then, you know, there is a reality check and you get to a stage where you go, okay, they're not as dependent on me. I need to find my way back to who I was. And that realization.

really kind of came back with, you know, I had to start with me first. And, and that's where I kind of came up with a new you and a new you, a new often people ask me where did it come from? A new is a play on words for a new, a new. So I was looking for a new me and decided, okay, what are the steps I need to take to get there? And it's all about self belief. We all need to believe in ourselves and find a way back. But we don't always have that self belief. So we need to borrow it. So I think

really important to kind of look to people that can actually help lift us up and help encourage us to find the best in ourselves. Because we, you know, we don't sometimes see that. So that was very important. And I suppose, really kind of engaging with people that made you feel make you feel good about yourself and feel like you've got, you know, puts a value in you. And I think that's where everything starts. So self belief, be more kind of mindful about the changes that you need to make. So mindfulness and

and you know, more self-awareness and just understanding what you can do. And I suppose

The ability to rest is the body's key to healing. Do you struggle with getting asleep at nighttime or staying asleep during the night and waking up the next morning feeling absolutely exhausted? My book, How to Get a Good Night's Sleep is easy to understand. It's solution-based and it's packed with research to help you take back control of your night's sleep. My book is available on Amazon.

and it's also available on howtogetagoodnightsleep.com. This book is also available in audio and ebook. So get your copy today and start having the best night's sleep that you've only ever dreamed of. I knew what it was all about initially empowering women and then it was it evolved to something different along route. So I had some amazing people that really kind of helped inspire me and really shared.

a lot of their learnings, a lot of things I've learned from so many people around me. then I just took a lot of inspiration from the people, thought, okay, well, starting out with a new effort for grownups was really important. But I knew then going through that time that our children do have so many challenges. Sorry, my dog is actually reading over this. Are we recording my video?

I'm leaving over here, my dog is in the way. I'm like this. God, they're important, they? The dog's happy. Yeah. So basically my direction changed when it was a good friend of mine. Her little boy was struggling with mental health issues. And I just realized I'm going down the wrong track here. know that, you know, we need a lot of support as grownups, but our children are really still suffering.

really struggling and that really kind of was where I realized I need to do something about this. So I thought, it's like I built a team before and ran out of talks and done events and things throughout the time when I launched Aunua. And then I thought, okay, well, I'll focus on children and look at seeing if we can put together a program and start enrolling people and getting them involved. Because I suppose what really happened was

you know, when you see somebody struggling and you see that like it's a little child, like this little boy was only 11 and he was really struggling so much with mental health. I realized this is, this is so disturbing. I've got two children. is what's, know, this children feel are feeling so, you know, so unsure of themselves and so sad. And there's a lot of like, I know that we look at a system and I know we said, we talk about this. I think it's really important that we talk about the system and that children

have lot of outside influences, but they go to school to learn, learn, learn. And that heavy sort of learning is not serving our children. It's not really preparing them for the world that they are facing. There's a lot of uncertainty and a lot of fears and worries for parents. And we know that the current environment that they're in school can have a huge impact on how they view the world. And I think they are themselves. Yeah, exactly.

You know, that little boy really did inspire me. And I realized, okay, I need to build the best team I could possibly find. I hadn't got a background in education or mental health. but I knew one thing, I knew that I had to do something to try and bring the best people together. so I reached out everywhere and spoke to everybody. just picked up the phone message. Everybody start really kind of coming out of myself because I felt compelled to do something. It was like something took over.

I can't really explain it now, but I remember standing in my kitchen one day and asking myself, what would I do? What would I be if I could have be anybody and do anything? I thought, you know, if I, if I could wish to do something, I'd love to be able to set up a charity, an organization to be able to help children. And it was really kind of an overwhelming feeling that I had. thought to myself, how does anybody like me become that person? Like, you know, and I put it out of my mind, thought, you know, that's never going to happen. That's, know, that those are the things don't happen to people like me.

know, how would I go about it? But whatever I did put out there in the universe obviously came back to me, you know, because it was like, okay, it was like the path was being, you know, paid, it was like, you know, it was like everything I did and it's taken a long time, think in over five years now, but it has been a real labor of love, a real mission and I've never looked back, I just keep looking forward and

I think when you really feel passionate about something, you really need to just get the people that share your vision, keep talking about it, keep believing in it. And, you know, once you've got a mission, that's for good. Really good things do attract, you do attract good things and good people. And I've been really blessed. I've got amazing people working with me now. know, and Newer Global has formed from...

And I know we spoke about a new Academy, which is all about the mental health, these emotional wellbeing of children and youth. But it's more than that. think we need to start looking at changing the narrative and start thinking differently about mental health. need to focus on something more. That's why I hope that the whole thing about a new and now has become something greater. It's about how do we empower children and young people to see their value, to give them something really, you know,

to understand the greater vision of what life could be for them. And no matter how they're. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Absolutely. And that there is is opportunities and there's ways that they can shine in this world and they can share and they can be part of something really way bigger. And there is lots of opportunities for them to be able to be heard, you know, and that platform for me has grown so much because.

and know with the amazing people that have come on board and really kind of got behind the whole vision and and shared the mission and I suppose that's when you start kind of seeing the magic happening is when you collaborate with other people you know you know it's really important that we work together it's a very big problem so it's going to need a very big community to solve the problem and and really it's you know it's it's amazing what what's possible when when you really do have you know

those networks and those sort of frameworks in place that you actually realize, OK, now we've got something, now we can do something with this. we can. Yeah. Where everyone comes together, you know, because, you know, the nature of human beings is to help each other. That's what the nature is. And that's what lights us up. And that makes us, you know, it gives us the serotonin and the dopamine and all that sort that makes us feel good, you know, and it's good for our mental health to help each other. Right. But I believe that, you know, in the world that we live in, there's this

There's this emphasis or disbelief of having more, having more, having more to make us feel safe. And it's that very feeling of needing more is coming from a place of lack of not feeling safe, really. So it's counterintuitive, really. And as human beings, we need to help each other. that's where, like, even if you open up a door for somebody, for an older person, and they say, thank you, bless you, or whatever,

And it makes you feel a mate, it makes you feel really great. And it has that impact, that ripple impact throughout the rest of the day. There's a lot you said, Karina, that I want to unpack. And it's just so great. And, before I pressed record, we were saying, you know, Karina, what are you up to? You always, you have your hand in so many pies, you know, like, where do you get your energy from and blah, blah, blah. And you mentioned passion, you mentioned the word passion. And I really just picked up on that because when we have the passion for, you know, something that we really want.

And you asked yourself, you know, if you could do it, what would you do? You asked yourself that one empowering question and the passion that you have and you identified what your values, you spoke, you mentioned about values as well. we'll expand on that a little bit more in a minute. But you mentioned that it was a value of yours, you know, and something that you really wanted. And when we're aligned with those values, this is where we get the energy. And this is where our passion and our ability to do and, you know, to do what needs to be done to make something happen, make something work.

So I really admire you for that and for really being aligned and identifying and knowing what it is that you want and that makes you happy and identifying what's needed in the world and especially for our children. And I also heard you saying about empowering women. That was something that you said as well when you were on your journey to find the new you. And you mentioned about empowering women and for decades women have lost their power. That was the culture in society over years, but women's power is coming back and women...

do so much in the family unit. And look, fathers are good as well, but I think women are naturally nurturing, you know, the more feminine aspect. And you mentioned as well, you know, when you were raising your two children, that you were giving them everything. And now that they're grown up, it's like, okay, now I have a chance to find myself. What am I going to do with myself now? And this is true for so many mothers that we give.

so much to our kids that we actually forget about ourselves. And think this is something that's really important. We need to be more compassionate about ourselves and fit ourselves up with the energy and make ourselves feel important. And I believe this is what's missing for many mothers in our society. And something else that you mentioned as well, and we'll move on, is that when parents are filled up, when they are aligned with their values, and when they can be at their best, then I believe that children naturally

benefit from this as well. Yes, we can teach our children things, but I believe myself that parents can influence, have a massive influence. So it's really important that parents practice self-care. That's what I wanted to say. So, Karina, tell us, you also have a Roar program. Yes, yes, yeah.

Yeah, I just wonder before you go any further, I'd love to just go back to what you said there, because you said some really important things. And I suppose that, you know, when you recap on certain things that I'd said, it's like, gosh, yeah, I said that. But I really feel it's important just to kind of talk a little bit more about the how the importance of of parenting roles. You know, I know that this is, you know, this podcast is all about parenting. all about how to support your children best. I just want to say a couple of things about that, like I

I know from my own children the importance that, you know, it really is so important to have a good, the best relationship you can have. I know no matter how bad the day is and no matter what challenges you're going through, it's really, really important to take that time and just spend it with the kids and really listen to what they're going through because energy in a home is so important. And, you know, the environment that we... Apologies, my dog.

But he's having his voice been heard anyway. always. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, it's just like having that time with the kids and just spending time really listening to them and what's going on in their lives, because, know, they really do. They really do have so much to say. And like my little boy now, he's 11 and he's quite the character, but he's quite a, you know, emotional, empathetic child, very sensitive. And I think that.

and my daughter too and they're so amazing and sometimes they're like counselors themselves. They've learned something, we were talking about this, things that the kids pick up from us. We know everything we do and all the influence that we bring to these kids and all that we're instilling in them.

Sorry, sorry, he's just, he's seen somebody outside the window. that's he's whining. Yeah, so basically, yeah, just having that time with our kids and really spending time listening to them. me feel hard with knowledge, doesn't it? Yeah, they're people.

Yeah, because parents are so busy these days, know, at work demands, family demands, washing the clothes, getting the dinner that we forget to give our kids a tent, just sit down and just be just be with our children. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And those conversations that we have and the kind of we are their role models. And we have like, you know, you know, it's really important that we instill those good values. think so many parents, it's tough on parents because there's so many pressures on

you know, on financially and, know, with relationships and work and all different types of pressures that families have. But that, that, you know, those pressures that we have and we carry, they can, you know, obviously reflect and really cause an energy and a vibe and a house. I think it's really important just to really kind of spend time just talking about those things and don't really, you know, don't brush them, talk about them, being open and honest, because you'd be surprised how.

you know, rather than trying to ignore things and saying, listen, I'm having a bad day and I'm really sorry if I'm having a go at you or this, you and just really just communicating that just so that they feel that they're being, you know, they have an understanding that we're all parents, we're allowed to make mistakes, we're allowed to. We're human beings too. Exactly, absolutely. Those things are allowed. But when we acknowledge that and we actually take responsibility and it, you know, really kind of say.

you know, and work with them. It'd be amazing how they can really kind of help bring you around and, you know, and can be so good for them. I also believe that it's very important to let our children know that it's OK to be sad. You know, it's it's actually OK to be sad. part of, you know, it's part of our well-being, you know, and to let our children see us crying, to let our children see us being angry. But then afterwards, come back to our children and explain what happened.

you know, why I was angry or whatever. And you're also teaching your children then how to regulate, you know, and to identify when they're feeling angry as well, because you've assessed your own situation and this can influence your children, how they're feeling and behaving. And the worst thing we can do is tell our children, you know, be quiet or stop talking or because we're actually shutting down their expression. Yes. This is crucial.

You know, I really believe that, you know, our children, if they have something to say, they're little people, as you say, and they have feelings and every feeling that you're having is real. There's no such thing as don't be silly if you're feeling sad. Don't be silly. Oh, God. You know, know, I know.

It's so true and like that's it. It's so important that we recognize that if they, you know, if they're like get upset about something or if they're crying or something. It's like years ago, you know, it was so wrong the way boys were supposed to be a certain way and supposed to be stronger and not crying. Like, you know, it's really important that we recognize and say, yeah, listen, it's perfectly okay. And just to kind of really support them through that because

suppressing emotions is the worst thing you can do with a child and every child is different in a different way of communicating how they do feel. But listen, it's great the work you're doing with families and I think that families really do need support now more than ever. I think really just finding any type of support you can get. Because parenting doesn't come with an instruction manual, know? really is. job according to me anyway. absolutely, totally, absolutely. Yeah. And I think with

With me, with Anua, think really what I always want to do is work from home as much as possible, be there for the kids. I think that this kind of allowed me to do that in a lot of ways as well, to be there for them, because there's so much you think, so many things that, you know, that, you know, I know it's very hard for parents as well, even their kids and all that, but I think that that can be really difficult to the choices we make and what we, you know, the different challenges that we face too with that. But I suppose

It would be really great, suppose, to talk about, there is something you mentioned there a while ago about a program that we're running at the moment. And I'd love people to check out the work we're doing with the NUA. There's one at the minute, and it's all about empowering children and young people with creativity, to be able to, know, empowering them to use their creativity as a way to impact, make an impact in the world.

And the project we're working on at the moment is called Positive Vibes. And it's called, it's all about... You have so many projects. Yeah. Well, you know, this is really, really important with them all. I think there's so much like we look at therapy and a lot of different ways that especially like how can we support, you know, young people and give them, you know, think art and creativity is really, really important to really kind of encourage and nurture in young people. I think that there is a lot of

studies done that creativity and kind of nurturing that in kids and young people is really, important. And it is a form of therapy, you know? And I think really with art, creativity, what's happening with this particular project we're able to do now is kind of work with young people, give them an opportunity to paint a picture, draw a picture, write a poem, and be able to take part as an Aunua hero, one of our Aunua heroes, that are basically contributing to

and the in to the cause. And basically what happens with this particular project and campaign is that they act their picture then becomes part of and can be uploaded and be sold as an NFT to help raise funds for impact initiatives and initiatives that we're working with. So we're working with some really incredible causes like children that are suffering in different parts of the world.

from refugee centers where kids have been displaced, from orphanages in different parts of Africa and empowering girls in Afghanistan. And there's different projects we're working on at the moment as part of this, also campaigns. But what the amazing thing about it is imagine if we were able to bring positive vibes into schools and say to the kids, know, okay, today you're going to paint a picture, but it's not just a regular picture. This picture is going to help make an impact in the world.

Imagine they usually a picture has got no connection. They might go and hang it up on the wall at home. They can still keep the original picture. But imagine the teacher then took a photograph and uploaded it onto this three web platform, which is our partner Impactiverse. It's uploaded there and then it's sold as a digital piece of art for say 10 euro. And then what happens is then if it's sold, it turns into an NFT, which is a valuable token.

And it also means then that they're actually that money that's raised through that way means that we're able to bring in art supplies, musical instruments, educational supplies into say an orphanage in Uganda. And now we're empowering these kids to know and obviously giving them a sense of could you imagine a refugee center in Syria and receiving all of these amazing art supplies and musical instruments. Now they're actually thinking, okay, the rest of the world actually does care about me.

they're not just left behind because that's really what's happening here. But also gives our children here in the Western world an opportunity to feel a sense of value and purpose and that they are actually making a difference in the world. That their voice does matter and their images, their creativity does matter and they are making a difference in the world and they're becoming the heroes our world needs right now.

You know, it's quite incredible what can be done in this space. I suppose the three web is offered as a platform to be able to do that. It's quite simple. And then the difference that that's going to make in the world. then the kids say the kids in Syria can actually have their own positive vibes day where they're doing art and creative things and they can actually upload them onto this platform and they can earn money for any activities they want to this campaign.

It's quite amazing. And then it gets even more exciting because what happens is we're actually holding a metaverse, an event in the metaverse on the 20th of August, which is going to be where it's going to be a festival for youth around the world. just for you. yes. That's it. basically anyone that purchases an NFT will actually get free access into the metaverse festival and all kids will be free into this metaverse.

And this is where they'll get to see incredible different artists. They'll be able to go in as avatars. They'll be able to attend festivals, art galleries. They'll be able to see different types of dances and performances and different people singing from different parts of the world. So it's quite amazing. you collecting cultures. Yes. can really hear on all of this. Absolutely.

Because that's a big, there's a big divide then and also, you know, with the culture thing, you know, and it's about connecting and collaborating and coming together despite where we came from or any challenges that we all have different challenges, you know what I mean? And we're all individual and we're bio individuals as well as to say, I can really hear that connection of it doesn't matter who you are, where you're from. Yeah, and just connecting and helping each other and the child who's creating the art, you're giving them that access to

aligning with their true selves because they're able to connect authentically with themselves through with the creativity work and all kind of right brain stuff. And so and then when they put that up online and they're creating an impact, you when you're telling they're creating an impact to somebody else in the world who needs it, it's helping that child to feel fulfilled and that they're helping. And that's their nature, isn't it? You know, so you're setting the child up for.

and that kind of work, you know, for that kind of lifetime work really, and giving them the power to help other people. And then in turn, know, like anyone in the world can do it. And then you're helping the people who have lack of funds, say, you know, who can sell and buy themselves, whatever that that's. Karina, it's just an all rounder. It's just a win win. It's just amazing. It is absolutely. And like we were out in UCD over the last two days, no, sorry, DCU, apologies, at DCU University.

over the last two days, basically with a lot of the volunteers and we were talking to a lot of the students out there. And basically this is an opportunity for a lot of young people as well, for anyone to be able to upload their pictures and be able to sell them and make money as well, because they can actually make, students can actually make money by selling their NFTs on this platform, but also percentage should be given to impact initiatives.

So regardless of what, there's always going to be a percentage given to impact initiatives that either they can choose or else they can basically get behind a new one and be part of the global community as well that we're building out. So the ROAR community is the one we're building out. And this is where we're going to be bringing different voices for young people all together, all around the world and really creating an inclusive world, a global citizenship where young people can be recognized and basically able to voice their.

what they want to do and what they want to achieve in this world and really kind of encouraging young people to step up as leaders. Our world needs really good leaders and kindness and compassion, empathy, those sort of amazing skills that are the most and more important ones. So there is a lot of uncertainty out there at the moment in the world. I think we really need to start looking at how we're going to prepare our children for the future that's coming and that's happening.

Yeah, there's a real sense of working together with the children. And I love it because there's so much peer pressure and bullying and all that in the world at the moment. And, especially with the youth and, you know, there's a sense that this working and collaborating together, it's it's it's helping them practice that. So it seems to me that it will help to reduce all this bullying and the peer pressure. And, you know, children can be so cruel at times and not, know, true no fault of their own. You know what I mean?

And it's really setting them up for being more appreciative and have more empathy. I hear you using that word quite a lot as well. my God. Talk to us, Karina, there's a couple of things that I want to ask you as well. The school system, if there was one thing that you could change in the school system, what would that be for our children to help them prepare for our future? Yeah. OK, one thing.

We've got to go to the few minutes left. Okay, okay. You might need to get your bike and go for a park. Yeah, yeah. You know what, I think that we need to start the core of all education, like the school environment is the one place we'll have children all at the one place at all at the one time. And you know, it's a missed opportunity if we don't start looking at how we can start reimagining education. And it is going to take work, you know, but I really think that, you know,

It's not fit for this world. It's not fit. Like we're looking at a totally different age and we're looking at a totally different age. There's so much happening now. I was growing up, so different. Never mind the economy and world we're living in and technology. Technology. Well, this is the thing. OK, so we're looking at AI and the reality is it's happening now. As we speak right now,

there is going to be a lot of, yeah, too fast. But we can't stop it now. like jobs are going to change forever. you know, jobs are changing. They're going to change forever. There's going to be a lot of jobs going, you know, that because a lot of the, the AI can take over the jobs that we actually have now. And like this is the, this is the, the elephant in the room that is like kind of daunting, you know, really kind of continuing down the road of,

of giving our children information that's regurgitated and is never going to be used down the line is really, to be honest, if we don't start looking at changing the school environment, the system and having happy children, I think what's most important thing in schools is that we actually have a curriculum that actually supports happiness in children and that should be the core emphasis of our education system. It should be about having children going to school, looking forward to going to school.

and feeling that they're in a place that they're going to learn about kindness and the really soft skills that are going to help them to step up and be able to be inspired to be able to make a difference in this world. That's the kind of world that we need right now. we, you know, when they're living from that place, they've so much power, right? And, you know, they're they're not afraid to not afraid of what we have fear about some things, but, know, it's so important that we.

Align with what it is that we truly makes us happy because from happiness comes so many great opportunities and we're aligned with our authentic self and you know, we're just driven then, you know, we're just driven for what it is that we want and what we want to create in the world rather than focusing on, look at all these terrible things that happened to me. Look at the lack of stuff that I have in my life. You know, we're really focused on being driven on creating stuff, creating a new world, right? And that's what happiness brings.

You know, our children are our new leaders of this world and there's so much going on, even technology, everything's moving really fast and we're not adapting quick enough. So, yeah, I really agree with what you're saying, you know, about the schools and helping our children to be happy. That's so, so important. Yeah, absolutely.

Yes, absolutely. think we could. Yeah, we could talk forever. I know we're probably well over time. are. are. Yeah, I just I wanted to talk about curriculum to schools a little bit about technology. Yeah, I mean, we've talked about your programs and your initiatives and all that that you have going on. And I just I just love the work that you're doing, Karina, because it's so important that our children are seen and heard. You know, we heard that saying years ago, children should be seen and heard.

whatever that the same from you not heard, not heard, not heard. Yeah. Yeah. Why sit in the corner and be good and say nothing like, know, and then they were rewarded for saying nothing and they were shut down and that's very, very damaging. So it's really important that we recognize that and break that pattern now so we can break that pattern going forward because our children, whoever they become as adults, they're set in the stage for their children and their children and their children and so on. So we need to break the pattern now. And, you know,

We are adaptive creatures. can adapt to new environments. That's how we were created. you know, and this is this is the message that you're putting out there and for the change and to be aware of it, to be aware of what's going on and really empowered. And I just love the work you're doing, Karina. Where can people find you? What's your website, Karina? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much, Joanne, for the opportunity. And I hope that I said something that might help encourage and inspire somebody out there. But I think it'd be really great to have.

Any any any of the families that want to come on board and help give their children an opportunity to be part of the Positive Vibe movement? It's a really exciting one. I really think that it is on your website. Yeah, so we've actually got positive vibes. Global dot com is actually where you'll actually find out more about the campaign we're running. And we actually recorded with 12 children here in Ireland with a musician that used to sing in the Commodore's many years ago, a very big

artist, know, and he came to record here this song. And these 12 kids in Ireland actually integrated, sang the chorus for Positive Vibes and it was integrated into the song and we're creating an animation. We're also, you know, the song has gone live now and it's an amazing, really Irish cut of them. I like the fact that it's kind of a, it sounds like a very Irish song, but it's not. But it's got a, it's just a really great song, Positive Vibes, but the movement in itself and the campaign.

is really to involve all children to participate because it's really important that we find outlets and ways that we can really encourage young people to express themselves through creativity. And this is the start of the campaign, the movement, which is PositiveVibesGlobal.com. And this will give the kids an opportunity to see what the campaign, see what it's all about and see how they can be part of the change too.

If we can shift something in our kids now at the moment, we can just start shifting them in a way that they feel more valued and that they have a purpose, have important and they're part of something way bigger. And they actually can then become part of like our hero, our hero community. It's like our new heroes community. And like each child that contributes will become a hero because this is the start of their kind of impactful journey because if they submit the picture.

they'll make an impact in the world and they'll make a difference. That child that's sitting in a refugee camp somewhere that feels that they're not important, they're not valued. Let's change this and let's see how we can get the Western world behind this campaign. And let's get our kids thinking that they know that they have a value and a purpose in this world because that's the greatest thing, that's the greatest shift we'll have when we talk about mental health. It's really about empowering our kids and giving them a platform to share and shine and be part of something that they can feel proud of.

I think that's really important. so yeah, it really is a gift. It really is a gift given empowering our children. It's a gift and just allowing them to be themselves. You know, I really hear I really hear your enthusiasm, your passion, your strong, strong message, Karina. I will certainly be sharing that website on my talks and I'm speaking to a school now later on this evening. And so I'll be sharing that with all the school. I've done a couple of talks in my local schools here in the community and I've another one now in about three weeks time. So I'll be sharing that.

Brilliant. Thank you so much Joanne. It's been a pleasure to talk to you as usual. I'm so inspired by the work you do and you're just amazing as well. So all this will help family sleep better. It's so great. Thank you. Thank you for the work you do too. And thanks for everybody for listening in today. So appreciate it. We have your websites and we put them all in the show notes and Karina listen, I think we will have to get you on maybe in a few months time just to see what you're up to.

for the Positive Vibes launch in August as well. yeah. And because there's loads more that we can talk about and have a conversation around. But Karina, we leave it there. We appreciate your time. Thank you for your acknowledgments of me as well. do. I do really appreciate that. It's so important that families can thrive and have a happy life because then they'll sleep better at night time. And, you know, we know sleep is so important for many aspects of life, including our mental health and our teenagers and our children need to sleep well.

for all their development and their emotional development and all that as well. So with that, Karina, thank you so much. Have a wonderful day. Thank Thank you too. Bye.

I do hope you are enjoying these conversations and to help me continue pushing these videos and audio podcasts together. I do have an ask. I do need support to help me to keep bringing you knowledge and insights. There is a Patreon link, patreon.com forward slash empowering family health, or you can make a donation via PayPal. All the links are in the description and the pinned comment.

You can do a one off or you can do a monthly support. So I'd really appreciate that. Thank you and have a wonderful day. Take care.