Hatrack Heroes!

Take yourself back a number of years, and picture the endless lines and groups of humans as they tried to escape the horrors of their homeland, and embark on a journey into a new country, a safe country. The refugee crisis was in full swing... young men, families with children... all striving for a better life, and in many cases, striving for life.

The image captured from this was one that our guest, Rando Wagner, experienced first hand, and really gave him drive and strength. The surreal feeling he got from this situation is something that has stayed with him ever since.

Rando Wagner's heart was touched, and a sense of solemness had thrust itself inside him... the sights he was seeing on the television was something else. The thoughts that entered into him were ones of horror and shock, and gave him chilling thoughts that reminded him of the history he'd been taught from days gone by in Germany.

This alone, gave him the trigger to utilise his position as cabin crew, and the time he had available to embark on a journey that would help and support the most vulnerable people as they tried to make the treacherous journey away from their war-torn homeland to pastures new.

Join us as Rando talks us through his project 'One Human Race', the stories he has lived through, and the amazing work that he and his team are doing.

Take yourself back a number of years, and picture the endless lines and groups of humans as they tried to escape the horrors of their homeland, and embark on a journey into a new country, a safe country. The refugee crisis was in full swing... young men, families with children... all striving for a better life, and in many cases, striving for life.

The image captured from this was one that our guest, Rando Wagner, experienced first hand, and really gave him drive and strength. The surreal feeling he got from this situation is something that has stayed with him ever since.

Rando Wagner's heart was touched, and a sense of solemness had thrust itself inside him... the sights he was seeing on the television was something else. The thoughts that entered into him were ones of horror and shock, and gave him chilling thoughts that reminded him of the history he'd been taught from days gone by in Germany.

This alone, gave him the trigger to utilise his position as cabin crew, and the time he had available to embark on a journey that would help and support the most vulnerable people as they tried to make the treacherous journey away from their war-torn homeland to pastures new.

Join us as Rando talks us through his project 'One Human Race', the stories he has lived through, and the amazing work that he and his team are doing.

Having experienced a sometimes tough upbringing back in her home country of the Philippines, we chat with Zen who tells us a bit about her journey from her childhood until now as she enriches the lives of children across the country through her vision of 'Seed', and also enriches the lives of those who are struggling over in the Middle East.

A simple memory of a kind-hearted person offering the young Zen a bowl of porridge while playing in the street has manifested a strong drive to want to give back to the community. Something small like this really triggered a chain reaction of goodness that Zen has acted upon through her faith in God.

Zen, who lives in Dubai, utilises her networks from her employment as airline crew, from church communities, and through an amazing band of volunteers to make the lives of many who are either suffering from poverty that much better.

Whether they be families who have lost income from Covid, or individuals who have had a tough time getting through life in general, or the children of the Philippines who need that extra help so they can get an education, and have that seed sewn into their lives so they can look forward to a beautiful life.

Join us for a chat full of humility and grace, and a heartfelt thankfulness for the life Zen has been able to lead.

Having experienced a sometimes tough upbringing back in her home country of the Philippines, we chat with Zen who tells us a bit about her journey from her childhood until now as she enriches the lives of children across the country through her vision of 'Seed', and also enriches the lives of those who are struggling over in the Middle East.

A simple memory of a kind-hearted person offering the young Zen a bowl of porridge while playing in the street has manifested a strong drive to want to give back to the community. Something small like this really triggered a chain reaction of goodness that Zen has acted upon through her faith in God.

Zen, who lives in Dubai, utilises her networks from her employment as airline crew, from church communities, and through an amazing band of volunteers to make the lives of many who are either suffering from poverty that much better.

Whether they be families who have lost income from Covid, or individuals who have had a tough time getting through life in general, or the children of the Philippines who need that extra help so they can get an education, and have that seed sewn into their lives so they can look forward to a beautiful life.

Join us for a chat full of humility and grace, and a heartfelt thankfulness for the life Zen has been able to lead.

"The more you give, the more you get", mantra we should all live by... as per the quote on Nu Skin's website, and also as per the upbringing of our guest in today's episode.

Maria, crew with Emirates Airline, has embarked on a journey taking in her passion of skincare and beauty, and gently blending it with her natural motherly and maternal instinct.

Sounds like a strange blend, but in fact this is the unique concept coming from the company she has joined with while on unpaid maternity leave. Nu Skin are a company who not only deal with skin, but are a company extremely dedicated to enriching the lives of children in most need around the world.

The concept, unique to them is 'Nourish The Children', and it is a concept we chat with Maria in depth about in this brand new episode of 'Hatrack Heroes!'. Maria is someone who wants to give her all, not only for her own children, but for the children of the world, and Nu Skin has given her this opportunity.

"Many of you have probably heard of the organisation we chat about today. They are most known for their amazing work with the eradication of Polio around the world, but also for fighting disease, promoting peace, and also disaster relief.
Rotary International are a worldwide organisation doing many amazing things around the world, with the help of over one million members... one of whom we are speaking with today.
Ana Mihai Schmidt is cabin crew with Emirates, but has been involved with Rotary for a number of years now starting back in her home country, Romania.
After moving to Dubai, she became involved again with the organisation joining up with events visiting a disable children's home, and delivering Iftar boxes to the labour workers during Ramadan.
She also embarked on a journey of self-discovery and growth by being the leader for her own project raising money at the Flea Markets.
Ana, from experience, can really say that Rotary gives you the opportunity to grow, and to become a better person. 
Join us for a great chat, and maybe it'll give you the encouragement to embark on a similar kind of journey too."

Have you ever had a moment where you've felt vulnerable? A moment where you've felt uncomfortable and with what feels like a minimal amount of control over a situation?

If you have, then you might have a small inkling about what the children of the small town of Senya-Beraku on the coast of Ghana, two hours from Accra feel. However, these children have grown up with this vulnerability staring them in the face every day pretty much from the moment they open their eyes into this world. Whether they are an orphan, or whether they've just been left in a room by the mother, to fend for themselves... just like the child our guest in this episode talks about.

Alejandro Magalhaes is airline crew in the Middle East, and due to the current situation for travel (or lack of), he was able to take time out from his work to venture into the world of volunteering with Becky's Foundation. 

Hear his story on how he managed to find his way to Ghana, the planning he made for his journey, and then the eye-opening experiences that were thrust upon him when he arrived. Emotions can get the better of anyone, and with Alejandro it was no different, as he was able to find connections with many of the children in the foundation... from a football wizz, to fleet-footed dancers, to a little girl called Mary 'cheeky'.

Alejandro also gives his thoughts on the trials and tribulations of volunteer work, and offers a warning to those of you who might be thinking of doing this kind of thing. 

Is volunteer work something for you? Find out more from Alejandro in this interesting chat.

We've been living in a strange and overall depressing kind of world for a while now... Covid has ripped lives apart, physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.
Many of us have come to terms with the restrictions, and living our lives the best way we can, and this includes the many thousands upon thousands of airline crew who were made redundant throughout this whole time. Yes, they may have lost their jobs, just like many others, but one such crew saw an opportunity, a possibility to bring a beacon of light in dark times.
Captain Emma Henderson MBE is our guest for part 2 of an amazing and uplifting chat that I believe will be one that you will all enjoy listening to, and especially relate to. Emma is the Founder/CEO of 'Project Wingman', a not-for-profit organisation run 100% by volunteers, mainly across the UK. 
'Project Wingman' is a collective of ex-airline crew volunteers, who may have been made redundant or furloughed, and are using there time to give back to those doing their utmost during these times - those being the workers of the NHS.
Coined by Emma herself, she likes to refer to what these volunteers do as 'a hug in a mug', basically offering the simple thing of a tea or a coffee in a hospital based 'lounge setup', but arguably more importantly an ear... to listen, to show care, to show empathy... just giving someone the time, and letting them know that what they are doing for us is truly being appreciated on a personal level.
What Emma has started is truly remarkable, and something that many in the NHS are so very thankful for right now. 
Throughout the chat, you can really feel how passionate and devoted Emma is to 'Project Wingman'. It is truly inspirational to hear what Emma has done since this pandemic started, and it was a real pleasure being able to chat with her, and hear first hand about all everything her and her remarkable team are doing.
We hope you enjoy.

We've been living in a strange and overall depressing kind of world for a while now... Covid has ripped lives apart, physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.
Many of us have come to terms with the restrictions, and living our lives the best way we can, and this includes the many thousands upon thousands of airline crew who were made redundant throughout this whole time. Yes, they may have lost their jobs, just like many others, but one such crew saw an opportunity, a possibility to bring a beacon of light in dark times.
Captain Emma Henderson MBE is our guest for part 1 of an amazing and uplifting chat that I believe will be one that you will all enjoy listening to, and especially relate to. Emma is the Founder/CEO of 'Project Wingman', a not-for-profit organisation run 100% by volunteers, mainly across the UK. 
'Project Wingman' is a collective of ex-airline crew volunteers, who may have been made redundant or furloughed, and are using there time to give back to those doing their utmost during these times - those being the workers of the NHS.
Coined by Emma herself, she likes to refer to what these volunteers do as 'a hug in a mug', basically offering the simple thing of a tea or a coffee in a hospital based 'lounge setup', but arguably more importantly an ear... to listen, to show care, to show empathy... just giving someone the time, and letting them know that what they are doing for us is truly being appreciated on a personal level.
What Emma has started is truly remarkable, and something that many in the NHS are so very thankful for right now. 
Throughout the chat, you can really feel how passionate and devoted Emma is to 'Project Wingman'. It is truly inspirational to hear what Emma has done since this pandemic started, and it was a real pleasure being able to chat with her, and hear first hand about all everything her and her remarkable team are doing.
We hope you enjoy.
 

Unconditional love is something we get from our parents as a child, no matter how naughty we are... Returning this love when our parents are of an age where they might find it more difficult to complete daily tasks, is something most of us might find tough to do. Yes, we love them... but going that next step and becoming a primary carer might not be our cup of tea.

In this episode, we listen to one such son, and previous guest, Heinz Schiedemann who has taken on this role with his father. We take a journey through his father’s life until today, and learn about the man he is. We hear of the special bond that he and Heinz have created together, and how Heinz has formed a new understanding and appreciation of his father… particularly in the realm of taking your time, and learning to appreciate the world around.  

We do also hear about the negatives, but it really seems as though these are far outweighed by the plethora of positives that are experienced together.

It's a joyful story, one of care and love... it may even bring a tear to your eye.