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#17 - Empowering Hearts: Astrid Hocking’s Impactful Journey in Child Protection and Community Building

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Astrid Hocking, the inspirational powerhouse of the not-for-profit world, shares her incredible journey and insights from two decades of empowering vulnerable children. Astrid has become a beacon of hope for local and international communities through her dynamic leadership at Hearts and Hands. Her tireless advocacy, through initiatives like the Umbrella Hearts campaign, strives to break cycles of child abuse. At the same time, her commitment to the Butterfly Hearts program uplifts those with mobility challenges. Astrid's collaborative work with orphanages in the Philippines, offering trauma-informed training for caregivers, paints a picture of compassion in action.

Our conversation unfolds the transformative power of Hearts Enhanced, an organisation devoted to empowering communities and protecting children. Astrid's work in the Philippines, helping 33 communities transition from living on dump sites to learning sustainable livelihood skills, is a testament to her impact. The Umbrella Ribbon campaign further underscores the importance of child protection awareness. Drawing from her experiences as a foster parent to nearly 90 children, Astrid shares the challenges and triumphs of fostering, emphasizing the necessity of unconditional love and nurturing environments.

Looking to the future, Astrid envisions expanding the reach of Hearts and Hands through initiatives like the Orange Ride and Camp Teddy, which aim to spread child protection awareness. We delve into the importance of community involvement and how collective efforts can drive positive change. Astrid's journey from saving Hearts and Hands from closure to building a supportive community of like-minded individuals exemplifies the power of collaboration. We invite you to support initiatives like the Small Steps for Hannah event, underscoring our vital role in fostering stronger, kinder communities.

Hearts and Hands
www.heartsandhands.net.au

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HANNAH'S STORY
www.smallsteps4hannah.com

These sessions aim to create more awareness and empower members of the community about the early warning signs of coercive control and the tragic but inspirational story of Hannah Clarke, her three children and her family.


Presented by Michael Jeh, DV Prevention Educator

Wallsend Diggers
Friday 31 January 2025 10:00 AM - 11:50 AM
5 Tyrrell Street, Wallsend NSW 2287
https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1335736?qr=true&qr=true


SURVIVORS R US
Fri 31 Jan 2025 1:30 PM - 3:25 PM
57 Pendlebury Rd, Cardiff NSW 2285
https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1335751?qr=true&qr=true


TORONTO WORKERS CLUB
Fri 31 Jan 2025 6:00 PM - 7:55 PM
James St, Toronto NSW 2283
https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1335781?qr=true&qr=true

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Thank you for listening!

Leon Goltsman:

Good morning, good afternoon or good evening wherever you are, and welcome back to Engaging Conversations. I'm your host, Leon Goltsman, and I'm excited to share our latest podcast with you as we hit the ground running in 2025,. I want to take a moment to thank you, as always, for your ongoing support and engagement. It's a privilege to bring these powerful stories and conversations to such an incredible community of listeners. Now, before we begin, a quick shout out to one of our amazing sponsors, Niaz Cannoth. As principal and lending specialist and co-founder of Invest Intelligence, Niaz empowers investors with socially responsible strategies, particularly in disability accommodation. Thank you, Niaz, for supporting engaging conversations and helping us make an impact.

Leon Goltsman:

Now on today's guest, a leader whose work is transforming communities and touching lives in profound ways. I'm honoured to introduce Astrid Hocking, the driving force behind Hearts and Hands. This remarkable not-for-profit is devoted to breaking the cycle of child abuse through its Umbrella Hearts campaign, empowering disadvantaged communities and providing resources for those living with mobility challenges via Butterfly Hearts. Astrid's journey includes over two decades as a foster parent, partnerships with an orphanage in the Philippines and a steadfast belief that protecting children is everybody's responsibility. Astrid embodies the spirit of unconditional love, offering people choices and opportunities, showing just how much can be achieved when communities unite with compassion, courage and a common goal. It's an inspiring conversation about uplifting entire communities and creating better futures for those who need it most. So, without further ado, let's jump into this enlightening discussion with Astrid Hocking of Hearts and Hands. This is a story you won't want to miss.

Astrid Hocking:

Hi, my name's Astrid Hocking. I've been married for 49 years. I've done a whole lot of things in my past different experiences, from teaching, foster caring, training and running support and training for foster carers, teaching adults lots of different things. And I'm currently involved in a wonderful charity called Hearts and Hands, community Development, who run a few different programs.

Astrid Hocking:

To be involved in Hearts and Hands came about quite by accident, because my husband and I had been foster carers for a long, long time and my husband came to a decision that he'd had enough. He didn't have the patience to do that anymore and I said I'm not finished, I want to still be working or doing something with children. And I was introduced to a lady who was planning a trip to the Philippines. So I said to her so what would you like to do in the Philippines? What do you do in the Philippines? And she said well, my sister-in-law runs an orphanage so I can go and visit there. And I just looked at her and said can I come? Because that seemed like an opportunity to work with children that I really enjoyed.

Astrid Hocking:

So three months later I was on a plane with this total stranger who is now a very good friend, and went along to the orphanage in the Philippines, fell in love with the children and the people and just worked with children there who were rescued from trafficking and abandonment. So those children kind of replicated the children we'd cared for for 24 years in our fostering career and it just meant that it was something else. I could continue working with children but not actually have them in our home. And what year was that? That was in 2013,. So 11 years ago. And since then I go to the Philippines twice a year, visit with the children, spend a lot of time with them and I also run because of my background in trauma and in foster caring. I run training for the carers who look after the children, because there's no such thing as professional development for them in a third world country. So I run training for them to help them better understand the children and their development and their trauma.

Leon Goltsman:

Hearts Enhanced, does focus on empowering communities. I know you yourself and your team do an incredible, incredible lot, not just for one organisation, but bringing a lot together. Can you share an example of a community you've worked with and the transformation you've witnessed?

Astrid Hocking:

Well, definitely some of the transformation that we've been involved with. Originally, when I went to the Philippines, I was interested in the children in the orphanage, but then I realised that that particular charity Hearts and Hands also worked in disadvantaged communities, some of whom were living on dump sites for survival, and they were going out teaching them livelihood skills such as sewing or hollow block making, bakery, different skills that they could earn an income so they didn't have to live on the dump sites. And we've managed to so far have 33 communities that no longer do that for their survival and they have income, which has been really, really uplifting for us as well that we can make that difference for people.

Leon Goltsman:

And the Umbrella Ribbon campaign raises awareness about child protection. What does this initiative mean to you and how do you see it making an impact?

Astrid Hocking:

The Umbrella Hearts campaign started in the Philippines. Back again to the orphanage, in caring for children who'd been traumatised by child trafficking, I realised that the carers were basically like an umbrella, because the umbrella is a symbol of protection. So we designed a simple piece of ribbon that has an umbrella on it and it's bright orange because we think children deserve to be bright and cheery and happy and optimistic, and we encourage people to wear that ribbon to start a conversation and say it's not okay to hurt a child. That's our mantra. It's not okay to hurt a child Every day. It's not okay. And we say that protecting children's everyone's responsibility. So we just. It's really close to my heart. The protection of children has always been there for me for a long, long, long time. It's just a lifelong passion. If we can do anything to spread that message as far and wide as we can to help protect children everywhere, that would be wonderful.

Leon Goltsman:

On a personal level, have also been a foster parent for over 24 years, caring for around 90 children. How has that shaped your perspective on supporting vulnerable children and families?

Astrid Hocking:

Caring for those children over the 24 years has been an amazing experience, uplifting at times, very, very challenging at times, when you have children who have come from abused and traumatic backgrounds themselves and a very, very disadvantage for the fact that they're leaving their normality, coming to a stranger's home.

Astrid Hocking:

So we have to get used to them, they have to get used to us and our routines and every household is different.

Astrid Hocking:

So it is a challenge for the children and I think that's probably from my perspective always trying to put myself in the child's shoes as well, to think where have they come from, what do they need the most? And from my perspective, I think that children everywhere are very good at something. Sometimes it's our responsibility as an adult to find what they're good at, but it's also our responsibility to give them love, unconditional love, not based on their behaviors, not based on what they do or what they can or can't do, just unconditional love, which we all deserve. And then realizing that we need to also teach them that there are other choices they can make in life, other opportunities we can give them. And if children have come from a traumatic, abusive background, unless they're shown another way of life, they'll become the next generation of abusive parents, and we don't want that for our society. So I want to really help make a difference. That's what I've been trying to do for a long, long time.

Leon Goltsman:

And you are making a huge difference in the local communities, but you're also you spend a lot of time overseas partnering up with orphanages. What are some of the challenges and triumphs you've encountered in this international effort?

Astrid Hocking:

Travelling to the Philippines is a challenge in that our cultures are very, very different. Their culture is that if the parents are not able to, for whatever reason, look after their children or actually in the Philippines, a lot of their parents travel overseas and leave the children behind to be looked after by either their parents so the grandparents or aunties and uncles, but because they haven't had, as invested, a tie with the children, many of those children then become abused as well. Just on the island that I go to, which is the island of Negros, there are 4.6 million people and they're estimating that almost a million of those children are abused in some way. That's a huge percentage of the children in that area. That's where we really want to make a difference across everywhere. But the difference in culture I struggle with because it is very different. But I also think that, no matter where you are, if we tell people what they can't do and I know new people coming into Australia we have refugees who come here they come from a different cultural background where they can or they do practice different child raising perspectives. Sometimes that involves what we now see as abuse. We tell them they can't do that, but we don't actually give them strategies to change that. If we say to somebody you can't do something, we have to give them alternatives, and that's something we're not good at. So I like to say, no, well, let's look at other strategies. I know in all of the children that we cared for and my own children, because we do have biological children as well I think one of the things that I learned very early on was not to physically use punishment in any way on a child, because I did smack one of my own children once the only child I ever smacked because he was putting something in a PowerPoint after being told not to, and he still did it.

Astrid Hocking:

I smacked because he was putting something in a PowerPoint after being told not to, and he still did it. I smacked his bottom and he was only two and a half. Within 10 minutes he smacked his little brother, who was a baby. He smacked him, and when I said to him that was the wrong thing to do, he looked at me and said but mummy, you smacked me and I learned from that that what I had done was teach him violence was okay. He just didn't know the extent, and that's the problem we have as well when people say, well, I was smacked, or this happens to me, or I'm only gentle. The problem is people don't always know what the extent is and they do it further than what they may otherwise do or what they really intend and they say it's okay. But it's actually not because you're teaching violence is okay.

Leon Goltsman:

One of the things, as well, that I admire. There's a lot of things I admire about your organisation, but one of them is Butterfly Hearts, which offers resources for people with mobility issues. What inspired this initiative and how is it making a difference in people's lives?

Astrid Hocking:

Butterfly Hearts came about quite accidentally because my husband was involved in a bad accident and he realised he needed further supports in different ways, and he said I don't like the term disabled, I don't want to be called or labelled disabled. And so we became very personally aware of what was happening with our society. We labelled people and we want to say no, everyone is very, very important. Some people just have more struggles than others. And we want to know no, everyone is very, very important, some people just have more struggles than others. And we want to know how we can help with those struggles.

Astrid Hocking:

So we try to say that those that have a supposed issue of some kind in their movements, we say, rather than you can't do those things, we want to change things around and say we have a can-do attitude. Sometimes we just have to find a different way to do things and try to make it positive. So we offer lots of information. People can go there and fairly easily access the information that they want to where there might be services. It's Australian-based, it's web-based, easy to access lots of information there. So it's not labelled as disabled, it's labelled as those people that may have mobility issues and that can be of any age, and as we age certainly as I am a grandmother as well we do find that there are struggles in certain ways, and we just need to find how we can do things rather than say we can't.

Leon Goltsman:

And that's a very, very good point that you've raised. But it also what that does is it reaches out to volunteers, and volunteers, as we know, play a significant role in the kind of work that you do. What makes someone a great volunteer and how do you ensure they feel valued and impactful?

Astrid Hocking:

I think volunteers are very, very important. Our charity the Hearts and Hands are totally volunteer based. None of us are paid for anything. We don't have any government funding. We just do fundraising from time to time to keep our organisation going. Everything we do is volunteer driven and it's really just about telling people they are important and showing them that, giving them a pat on the back, saying thank you for the work they do, showing that they are valued, giving them a certificate of appreciation.

Astrid Hocking:

A couple of years ago I did certificates for each of our volunteers who just come along because they want to make a little bit of difference, don't have a lot of time. Sometimes it's a social outing to be involved in something as well, to volunteer and work. And when I did those certificates a couple of years ago, one of the ladies who was in her 60s, said to me I've never been recognised or acknowledged for anything I've done, and she was just over the moon and I thought, no, that is really, really super important. So we do like to give recognition, give them a pat on the back and give them some food. Food's always important, it's a motivator, it's also something that connects people, that social experience getting together. So it's not just volunteering and helping, but knowing they can make a difference and being told constantly that they are making a difference to help people.

Leon Goltsman:

And you mentioned food. One thing I can say about food is that food is the international language of love. Do you agree with that?

Astrid Hocking:

Absolutely. It's definitely a language of love we always have. When we get the volunteers together, we always have a lovely morning tea. My husband acts as the barista and they tell him what sort of coffee they want and we always have a nice chit-chat around that time. So it's social time as well and that is very, very important. Sometimes we even have you said about international sometimes we call it an international morning tea and they'll bring and each one contributes in some way, and they'll bring something from their own backgrounds and it's nice to really have that reflection of where people have come from and discussion about that food too, but the real fundamental reason and purpose for doing what you do and I also noticed your nail polish is also orange, that's.

Astrid Hocking:

My granddaughter painted my fingernails, yes, but she always. Everyone laughs and many of my friends say to me if we see orange in the shops anywhere, we always think of you. So it's really nice to be remembered for something special too, but it's all to do with the children. It's just that colour of brightness and happiness for children. So let's all just protect our children. Wherever we can, do whatever we can to protect the children.

Leon Goltsman:

I love your message and, of course, child abuse prevention is a critical focus of what you and the volunteers and your organisation is trying to achieve. How do you approach this sensitive topic to create meaningful conversation and change?

Astrid Hocking:

Well, I think the fact that we have the ribbons which is a very simple ribbon, as I said before, with orange and the umbrella on it it's our own design, our own ribbon. Now we actually have them in many, many places that people can purchase a ribbon. We also give them away. We go to expos and shows and things, really trying to promote it as widely as we possibly can. Go to councils and talk to councillors about getting um councils on side lake macquarie council has made an official motion to say they absolutely support our organization and what we do with the umbrella ribbons.

Astrid Hocking:

But wearing that ribbon everywhere and I do wear it every day, no matter where I going. I can go to special awards nights or whatever else that's happening and I will still wear my ribbon. And people always comment and the thing that wearing the ribbon is, it's the conversation starter. People will say what is that? Because they don't recognise it. I have to say I have a goal that everyone eventually will recognise that and do something about it. It starts the conversation.

Astrid Hocking:

They ask what is the ribbon? You can say it's about child protection and on goes the conversation. You can challenge people's thinking just by wearing a ribbon and I know it's changed behaviours. It has changed communities in the Philippines. We now have many communities across the Philippines who say they have zero tolerance to abuse, because we've talked to them about that ribbon and they wear the ribbon as well and they're actually promoting it very big over there. It has been launched officially as a program in Australia with National Child Protection Awareness Day declared in September, even though we say every day it's important. It's also been launched officially in the Philippines as a recognised child protection awareness campaign. So we're really just trying to make a difference wherever we can.

Leon Goltsman:

I think we need to knock on some of the doors of our elected representatives. I might actually speak to you about this offline, especially this time of year. Now everyone's talking about election and everyone's talking about what they're going to do for the economy and what they're going to do to improve the standard of living.

Astrid Hocking:

But this is the fundamental issue that often falls through the cracks. Yep, definitely we need to be speaking to more people, but I have to say one of the things that we've started now. We've realised we've been raising that awareness for so long, because we officially launched this in 2015 as a program and we've been doing what we can in small ways, but we're getting larger. We've now said that, well, okay, we've done awareness, we're still continuing to do that. We then started an advocacy and we have been visiting politicians. I've been to Canberra, I've been to Sydney, I've been to political offices.

Astrid Hocking:

We have the Hunter representative for federally, dan Ripicoli, as an ambassador for the program as well, and I also wanted to mention that we have a lot of support from our local member for the Lake Macquarie area, and that's Greg Piper. He's been fantastic in the support of Hearts and Hands and our program for Umbrella Hearts, and I just want to say thank you to Greg for that support, because it's important and within Greg's area, on the 31st of January, we're running a session called Small Steps for Hannah, which is around raising awareness of domestic violence in our communities, and I think that's really, really important to go with our programs as well, because in domestic violence almost every case involves children. So on the 31st of January in Toronto we're running that session. So that would be wonderful for people to attend and I'm sure Greg will be supportive of that.

Astrid Hocking:

So if people wanted to participate or attend, if people would like to come along to that event on the 31st of January. It's being held at Toronto Workers' Club and you can book that through Try Booking. It's called Small Steps for Hannah and it's on at Toronto Workers' Club.

Leon Goltsman:

Oh, that's fantastic. Well, I'll definitely put.

Astrid Hocking:

And we are speaking to lots of politicians. We do need to do that even more. So that's our advocacy as well. And then we're going into action because we think that again, what I said before is, rather than saying people what you can't do, we have to replace that with some suggestions of what you can. So we've actually now have a couple of things happening. We've got Changing Practice Practice Change as a program on our website that's available free to everyone. They can look at that, answer questions, which actually gives them the opportunity to reflect on where their own parenting styles come from, and when you reflect on that, you can make changes because it gives you the opportunity to think.

Astrid Hocking:

Then we also have our book now that we've released, called Basics of Child Raising, which is a very simple small booklet available to anyone. We've got some sponsorships and certainly seeking further sponsorship of that book to hand it out wherever. It may be useful to anyone that they can read that and have some suggestions, and we'd love feedback on that as well. So if somebody wants that, we've got the website as well wwwheartsandhandsnetau. Looking at that website, you'll find some different resources there Butterfly Hearts, umbrella Hearts lots of information, lots of links to other sites as well. That could be useful. So we're hoping to go into all of those areas of awareness, advocacy and action.

Leon Goltsman:

Astrid, that's fantastic, and I'll have all that available on the show notes as well.

Astrid Hocking:

Thank you. Yeah, that's wonderful. There's a lot of stuff there and a lot more available, and ideas are very, very welcome. Volunteers are very welcome. Donations are very welcome as well. We have an organisation in Melbourne as well that currently sponsor our book and are doing quite a lot for us through the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, and we're looking for more opportunities to spread that further.

Leon Goltsman:

Oh well, this is fantastic. Thank you so much for all that you do.

Astrid Hocking:

Thank you. Thank you, it's wonderful to be able to share the information as well.

Leon Goltsman:

Astrid, you're very inspiring. You know someone who's come from a teaching background to charity work. What skills or experience from your teaching career has been the most valuable in your current role?

Astrid Hocking:

I think, sharing recognising that people are important. I have a saying that says and I learned this in a business a long, long time ago everyone has an invisible sign around their neck that says make me feel important. So look at people. When you speak to them, try to remember their names, and that's always a bit of a challenge, but I really try to do that. I can certainly do it with children more so than adults. But I think also just respect, being respectful and kind and gentle in whatever you do, not being adversarial Probably those things are quite important to me.

Leon Goltsman:

And somebody who gives it 110% in what you do. I also am very fortunate because I do take glimpses of your personal life and for people who lead busy lives, how do you balance your life?

Astrid Hocking:

I think one of my biggest things is my passion. My husband sometimes says I haven't learned to say no just yet. I'm getting better at that. I think taking care of yourself is always very, very important. You do need to have some time out for yourself, and I recognise that. I've currently got my grandchildren staying with me and loving every moment of that.

Astrid Hocking:

I do try to spend a little time each week just for me in doing something social. It might be just catching up with someone with a coffee, having a bit of a debrief, and always the conversation gets around to hearts and hands. But it's something that I am very passionate about, but doing something with a heart. And sometimes people say to me so what does retirement mean to you? Because I did retire eight years ago. But in that I say that retirement has a different feeling because it just means that you can do whatever you want. You can get up in the morning and do what you choose to do with a passion. You just don't get paid for it because it's voluntary, but it's a lot of fun.

Leon Goltsman:

But the rewards are often a lot greater.

Astrid Hocking:

Absolutely. The rewards are different. Yeah, it doesn't have a thing. I also have one other saying that about professionalism, because people quite often link professionalism or a profession of such with a monetary value and with a paycheck. Professionalism to me is an attitude, not about the paycheck.

Leon Goltsman:

And the satisfaction.

Astrid Hocking:

Absolutely the satisfaction and knowing you are making a difference.

Leon Goltsman:

Well, you certainly are, and talking about making a difference, what advice would you give to someone who, too, wants to start a charity organisation or get involved in the community work, but doesn't know where to begin?

Astrid Hocking:

I think, just making sure that it is something you have a passion for and have a belief in, and work with that with integrity. Things will happen when they're meant to be. I didn't start Hearts and Hands, however, when, just a few years ago, the people who had started the organisation came to me. They knew I had a passion for it, and they came to me and said look, we're going in different directions and we're going to close the charity unless you would like to take it on. I thought for about 30 seconds and went no, you cannot close it. No, okay, I'll take it on, and away they went.

Astrid Hocking:

But what I did then was gather around me people who also believed in that, people who knew me, and I rang quite a few friends and said look, I really need some help. I can't do this on my own, so having someone around you as well was important. I rang quite a few friends and said look, I really need some help. I can't do this on my own, so having someone around you as well was important. I gathered quite a few friends. They came to my home, we had a meeting and I had five people put their hands up and say yes, we're on the board. We're there with you, so gather people with like-minded thoughts as well.

Leon Goltsman:

Well, that's very, very important to have the right people around you. To have the right people around you. The first thing I was thinking now is 30 seconds. What took you so long?

Astrid Hocking:

Well, maybe it wasn't 30 seconds. I was scared. I was absolutely scared, I have to say. The very first time when I first decided to even be involved in 2013, when I'd asked a total stranger can I come, too, to this orphanage in the Philippines, I barely knew where the Philippines was, let alone going to this country, and three months later, getting on a plane with somebody I also barely knew, I cried quite a bit of the way between Sydney and Manila, flying there, and the air hostess thought I was scared of flying and I couldn't tell her no, it was just that I'm scared of what I'm doing. I don't know what I'm going to do when I get there. So it was rather a strange thing to look back on, but it was just something I knew I had to do. It was just something I really, really, really wanted to do.

Leon Goltsman:

Well, looking back, it was a very courageous move, but we're here at a start of a new year, 2025, looking ahead and what are your dreams for Hearts and Hands, and how can the community get involved to support your vision?

Astrid Hocking:

I would love more support. We would love to have more volunteers in different locations as well. We've had some very successful child protection events that we ran in September this year and we'd like to see those become Australia-wide. And one of those was a bike ride a motorbike because it's a passion of my husband's and we call that the Orange Ride for Child Protection, and we gathered a lot of motorbike riders around and we went from one location to another. We had the Lions Club as well, very supportive of us, running breakfast for the riders, and then we had a family fun day of activities at the end and we'd like to see those kind of events. Further around.

Astrid Hocking:

We had Camp Teddy, where we involved children because we thought this is about children, we need to do that in a fun way as well, so children could register their teddy bear or a soft toy to come along with us for two weeks and they could register and tick off some activities the teddy would do when they go off on camp and we collected all these teddies and soft toys and took photos of them in different locations and they could go kayaking or abseiling or all different having a picnic all different sorts of things they could do, and I think we can set those up in different locations as well, really just to spread the message, because we had children saying that this is about us, this is about child protection, so we need to be cared for. So it was wonderful to have the kids involved as well in a fun way. So my goal I guess from the child perspective part sort of thing as you can tell I'm very passionate about that for Umbrella Hearts and for our ribbon to be recognised everywhere so that if somebody saw the orange ribbon with the umbrella on it they would know that's about child protection. That would be my goal that everyone could recognise. That's what it's about have the conversation and make change in our community.

Leon Goltsman:

That's what it's about have the conversation and make change in our community. Well, how about in 2025,? We'll do one year at a time. We'll get those ribbons out there. I might have to get a whole heap from you.

Astrid Hocking:

Yep, and that can absolutely be done. We have in my home. We have a band of 20 volunteers who come on a regular basis and that's growing and they make up the ribbons. We buy the ribbon wholesale and we get all the different components, put them all together professionally and then distribute them as wide as we can, and we're doing that more often. And people have actually said at our last AGM because I have a particular volunteer who's very passionate about that and that's his baby. He's in charge of setting that up and getting the team all working with that and he actually said well, if she's going to be out there more promoting this, we need to be making more, so we might need to meet more often to make more ribbons. So we can absolutely do that.

Leon Goltsman:

So we need to see more ribbons out there. Now, if you're a school, a teacher, a student, even a council worker, what would they need to do to get ribbons?

Astrid Hocking:

If you'd like to get more ribbons. One of the ways to do that is to either contact me personally or you can go onto our website. We've got a little shop on the website. We can send those ribbons to you. If you just let us know how many you need, we can send them out. We On the website, we can send those ribbons to you. If you just let us know how many you need, we can send them out. We've sent large packages out to different organisations. We'd like to see council workers, police, schools, hospitals all wearing the ribbons so that they can share that message that it is important, but particularly anyone working in the area of children your schools, your hospitals, child protection workers all of those need to be wearing that and saying this is very, very important to everyone, but it is everyone's responsibility.

Astrid Hocking:

It's not a case. Somebody said to me recently oh well, you know I'm not a mandatory reporter so I don't need you. She was telling me about an issue that she knew of, of some child abuse that was happening, and she said oh, but. And I said have you reported that? I said you're telling me, but I'm getting that information secondhand. Have you reported? She said, oh no, I'm not a mandatory reporter. I said that doesn't matter. I said as far as I'm concerned, every person in our community needs to be considered themselves as a mandatory reporter Everyone. If you're aware of child abuse, you need to report it. If you don't, you're being complicit and you're saying it's okay.

Leon Goltsman:

Well, we're in this together, so we all need to call out good activity, recognise people who do good things, but also call out the things that need to be called out, and I commend you for everything that you do. Thank you for coming on and speaking to me and sharing your journey with the audience. It's great to have you here.

Astrid Hocking:

It's been a privilege and a pleasure, but thank you because I love the opportunity to share this information.

Leon Goltsman:

Thank you very much, and that's a wrap. A heartfelt thank you to our special guest, astrid Hocking, for sharing her incredible journey, one that reminds us how simple acts of kindness can set off a chain reaction of life-changing transformations. From fostering nearly 90 children to uplifting entire communities through hearts and hands, astrid exemplifies the power of unwavering dedication and genuine compassion. And speaking of genuine compassion, there's one story that Astrid shared after we finished recording that truly struck my heart. It's about a young lady who she met in the Philippines, an infant at the time, who literally took Astrid by the hand on her very first visit. Over the years, that little girl grew up to earn a university degree and took care of her younger siblings. When her wedding day finally came, she asked Astrid to walk her down the aisle because Astrid was the closest thing she had to a parent. Now, if that's not a reason to give back, I don't know what else he has. Astrid said, and I couldn't agree with her more Community, after all, is giving back and making the world a better place.

Leon Goltsman:

If you'd like to support Hearts and Hands or learn more about the Umbrella Hearts Ribbon Campaign, you'll find all the details in our show notes, and please remember there's an upcoming event on January 31st Small Steps for Hannah. Your support and engagement can make a real difference there too. A final thanks to our sponsor, Niaz Cannoth, for making this show possible, and thank you, as always, to our wonderful listeners for tuning in, sharing these stories and helping us build stronger kinder communities, one conversation at a time. If today's episode resonated with you, please share it with your friends and family. Your support helps us continue bringing these impactful stories to light. I'm Leon Goltsman and I look forward to our next engaging conversation. Until then, stay safe, stay connected and let's keep making a difference together.

People on this episode

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Leon Goltsman

Host
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Astrid Hocking

Guest