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In this episode, we meet Praveen Gomez, a Sri Lankan community-builder and global advocate working with World Without Orphans (WWO), a movement active in 99 countries to ensure that children grow up in families rather than institutions.

From his childhood during Sri Lanka’s 30-year civil war to his current role connecting churches, NGOs, governments, and communities, Praveen shares how resilience, compassion, and collaboration can keep families together—and why even the smallest interventions can change a child’s future.

He explains why most children in orphanages still have a living parent or relative, how economic hardship—not lack of love—is often the cause of separation, and why mobilising communities is the key to long-term change. We also discuss practical safeguarding, the importance of parenting support, and the unique human warmth and natural beauty of Sri Lanka.

We explore:

• Why most children in orphanages still have parents or relatives—and how poverty drives separation
• How community action (meals, transport, small grants) can prevent family breakdown
• Building learning communities: how WWO connects national teams across 90+ countries
• Safeguarding and accountability—equipping caregivers and working alongside governments
• Parenting as a shared journey: why training and peer support matter at every stage
• Stories of hope: from refugee parenting camps in Ukraine to local solutions in Colombo
• Sri Lanka’s unique resilience and kindness, shaped by war, crisis, and recovery
• Travel insights: beaches, hill country, tea plantations, and the everyday generosity of Sri Lankans
• Why starting small—one step at a time—creates lasting impact

About our guest

Praveen Gomez is the Implementation Lead at World Without Orphans, helping national leaders collaborate on solutions to keep children in safe, nurturing families. Based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Praveen brings personal resilience from growing up during the civil war and professional expertise in building partnerships across borders.

🔗 LinkedIn
🌏 World Without Orphans Profile

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🥑 Brought to you by The AVOCADO Foundation – building financial confidence and unlocking potential through entrepreneurship, education, and equity.

• 🌐Web: theavocadofoundation.org
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🙋🏾‍♀️ Connect with your host, AmickyCarol Akiwumi MBE: @AmickyCarol on all platforms

🎙️ Podcast produced by Humanise Live – helping charities and social causes bring their stories to life through audio.Learn more at www.humanise.live or hello@humanise.live

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In this episode, we meet an anthropologist, teacher trainer, and civic advocate whose mission is to ensure that education becomes a tool for equity, empathy, and empowerment. From a childhood in a Wi-Fi–less Mexican village to leading service-learning initiatives across Europe, Diana Chavez’s story reveals how privilege, sacrifice, and purpose can transform not only individual lives but entire communities.

She explains what it truly means to decolonize academia—from rethinking the language of history to recognising multiple narratives—and why apologies from colonising nations remain crucial for healing. We also explore her vision for ethical volunteering, designed to dismantle the “saviour complex” and foster genuine cultural exchange, as well as her work spreading quality education through teacher training and NGO leadership.

We explore:

• A life shaped by service: Thailand (youth development), India (public health in the Himalayas), and Europe (teacher training & NGO leadership)
• Why quality education matters in an information-saturated world—critical thinking, media literacy, and empathy
• Decolonizing education: the power of language, multiple historical narratives, and why apologies matter
• Ethical volunteering vs. the “saviour complex”—how to empower communities through true exchange
• Travel with context: richer ways to experience Mexico and Amsterdam (including decolonial tours)
• Diana’s current roles: Director, VIA Netherlands (SCI), and Teacher Trainer/Mentor at Europass Teacher Training Academy

Diana Chavez is a Mexican-American anthropologist, teacher trainer, and cultural advocate based in the Netherlands. With over fifteen years of global service-learning experience, her work spans youth development, gender and reproductive health, climate justice, and intercultural civic engagement.

She is the Director of VIA Netherlands (the Dutch branch of Service Civil International) and a mentor at Europass Teacher Training Academy, where she equips educators across Europe with tools for professional and personal growth.

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/diananchavez
• Europass Profile: teacher

Support the show

🎧 Subscribe & Follow the podcast: @WorldChangersPC

🥑 Brought to you by The AVOCADO Foundation – building financial confidence and unlocking potential through entrepreneurship, education, and equity.

• 🌐Web: theavocadofoundation.org
• 🔗LinkedIn: The AVOCADO Foundation
• 📘Facebook: The AVOCADO Foundation
• 📸Instagram: @TheAVOCADOFoundation
• 🐦Twitter/X: @TheAVOCADOFdn
• 🎵TikTok: @theavocadofdn
• 📩Contact: info@theavocadofoundation.org

🙋🏾‍♀️ Connect with your host, AmickyCarol Akiwumi MBE: @AmickyCarol on all platforms

🎙️ Podcast produced by Humanise Live – helping charities and social causes bring their stories to life through audio.Learn more at www.humanise.live or hello@humanise.live

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What does it mean when your mother tongue isn’t recognized in your own country? In this captivating conversation, Jamaican cultural advocate and ethnodoxologist Jo-Ann Richards Goffe takes us on a journey through language, identity, and spiritual expression that transcends borders.

Jo-Ann introduces us to ethnodoxology—helping communities worship through their indigenous languages and artistic expressions. From workshops in West Africa to translating the New Testament into Jamaican language, her work challenges colonial legacies that positioned English as “superior.”

We explore:

• How ethnodoxology empowers communities to worship using their own languages and cultural art forms
• Why Jamaica’s native language still struggles for recognition despite independence
• How music across genres—reggae, dancehall, revival—carries spiritual and cultural meaning
• The role of cultural figures like Louise Bennett-Coverly in advocating for Jamaican identity
• Jamaica’s outsized influence on global culture through music, sport, and literature
• Jo-Ann’s personal journey from being fined for speaking Jamaican at home to leading its validation through worship and music

This episode is a moving reminder that “when you validate a language, you validate the speakers of that language.”

Connect with Jo-Ann Richards Goffe

• 🌍 Website: joannfaithrichards.com
• 🎶 Ministry: crew40-4.com
• 📖 Books:
  • Godincidences!: A Jamaican Woman's Journeys with God
  • Auntie Jo-Jo Goes Vegan
• 💿 Albums:
  • Kom Mek Wi Worship
  • Kom Mek Wi Worship 2: Di Revilieshan
• 📺 YouTube: @joannrichardsgoffe
• 📸 Instagram: @joann_faith_richards
• 👍 Facebook: facebook.com/joann.richards.357

Support the show

🎧 Subscribe & Follow the podcast: @WorldChangersPC

🥑 Brought to you by The AVOCADO Foundation – building financial confidence and unlocking potential through entrepreneurship, education, and equity.

• 🌐Web: theavocadofoundation.org
• 🔗LinkedIn: The AVOCADO Foundation
• 📘Facebook: The AVOCADO Foundation
• 📸Instagram: @TheAVOCADOFoundation
• 🐦Twitter/X: @TheAVOCADOFdn
• 🎵TikTok: @theavocadofdn
• 📩Contact: info@theavocadofoundation.org

🙋🏾‍♀️ Connect with your host, AmickyCarol Akiwumi MBE: @AmickyCarol on all platforms

🎙️ Podcast produced by Humanise Live – helping charities and social causes bring their stories to life through audio.Learn more at www.humanise.live or hello@humanise.live