Engaging Conversations | Inspiring Dialogue, Empowering Communities
Welcome to Engaging Conversations, the podcast that connects you with the pulse of our local communities.
Hosted by Leon Goltsman, Co-Founder of Ecolibrium Headquarters (EcoHQ), each episode invites you on an inspiring journey into the stories that shape and uplift our neighbourhoods.
From visionary leaders and industry experts to everyday heroes making a difference, Engaging Conversations offers an exclusive look into our society’s diverse and dynamic fabric. This podcast is your gateway to broadening your perspective, building meaningful connections, and being inspired.
Please note that the views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or EcoHQ. The discussions in this podcast are for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional, financial, medical, or legal advice. Listeners are encouraged to seek independent professional advice before making any decisions based on the content of this podcast.
Tune in, join the conversation, and discover the people, places, and purpose driving positive change.
Engaging Conversations | Inspiring Dialogue, Empowering Communities
#33 - Koalas, Kangaroos, and Kindness: The Ultimate Aussie Remedy with Christopher Williams & Ann Victoria
What happens when creativity meets compassion? In this heartwarming episode, we discover how a poem written during Australian bushfires has transformed into a nationwide movement supporting children with special needs.
Meet Christopher Williams and Anne Victoria, the creative force behind Karey & Kareful – a series of illustrated storybooks featuring a wheelchair-using koala and his kangaroo mate. Christopher shares how his lifelong experience with disability and a wheelchair journey through drought-ravaged NSW sparked the original story. Anne reveals how her artistic vision brought these uniquely Australian characters to life, creating books that special needs teachers describe as "essential reading for all children."
The conversation explores how their foundation aims to provide every special needs child in Australia with their own five-book set – approximately 400,000 children nationwide. We hear how major Australian businesses, such as IGA and Bendigo Bank, have joined the mission, focusing particularly on supporting regional communities where resources are often scarce.
Beyond the books themselves, Christopher and Anne detail innovative programs, such as their Celebrity Readers initiative and the Reading Appreciation Forum, which encourages volunteers to commit to reading with children with special needs. Their vision extends to developing animated cartoons through emerging AI technology, potentially bringing these beloved characters to an even wider audience.
This episode powerfully demonstrates how Australian values of mateship and inclusion aren't just nostalgic concepts but living principles that continue to shape communities. Through Karey & Kareful's journey, we're reminded that simple acts of storytelling can create profound connections, foster resilience, and build a more inclusive future for all children.
Want to be part of this movement? Visit the Karey and Kareful Foundation website at https://www.kareyandkarefulfoundation.org.au/our-story-so-far or call their "Bush Telegraph" on 0433 125 561 to learn how you can volunteer, sponsor book sets, or help with distribution to schools across Australia.
Thank you for listening!
Hello and welcome back to another episode of Engaging Conversations. I'm your host, Leon Goltsman, and each week we speak with people who are reshaping what's possible for our families, communities and future. Today's episode is a reminder of something deeply Australian Mateship. Not as nostalgia, but as a living value we need now more than ever.
Leon Goltsman:Today's special guests are Christopher Williams and Anne Victoria, the creative duo behind Kerry and Careful, a series of beautifully illustrated storybooks bringing joy, hope and resilience to children with special needs. What began as a heartfelt poem during drought and bushfires has grown into a national mission to give every special needs child in Australia their own five book set. Along the way, they've brought together teachers, parents and businesses like IGA and Bendigo Bank, proving that when we support each other, when we act on our moral obligations, we create change that lasts. This episode is made possible thanks to the ongoing support of Niaz Cannoth and the team at Invest Intelligence, proud partners of the show and champions of purpose, progress and community. Their belief is building stronger connections mirrors exactly what today's conversation is all about. If you've ever wondered how a simple act like sharing a story can make communities and spark a movement, this is an episode you will want to hear, so, without further ado, let's get into it.
Anne Victoria:Hello there, friends. I would like to introduce myself. I'm delighted to be here. My name is Anne Victoria. I grew up here in Sydney, Australia. I'm visiting my family and friends in Sydney right now. Presently, I live in Midland, texas, and where I've been teaching art for 25 years and I'm just so thrilled about joining with Christopher and doing these great books for children that I've illustrated Christopher and doing these great books for children that I've illustrated G'day g'day.
Christopher Williams:My name is Christopher Williams. My partner, annie, does all the illustrations for our wonderful books, the Karey and Kareful storybooks, and I've been in the charity business, if you can call it that, for many, many years, and it was when I was doing what we called a wheelchair roll around New South Wales nearly 20 years ago now, during a drought, and I saw firsthand the devastation that the drought and bushfires caused to both animals and humans, and I saw dead kangaroos, dead wombats. I saw dead kangaroos, dead wombats, dead koalas, and I imagined at that time, being a writer, what would it be like to be a koala and your tree catches on fire and you fall out and you land on the ground and bounce up, and you bounce up into a kangaroo's pouch and he hops you off to the dock. Wouldn't that be a nice story? So that was the beginning, what I called the Ballad of Karey and Kareful, and that was written about 20 years ago and the story started then.
Leon Goltsman:What a fantastic creative imagination. 20 years later, and here we are. Your life story seemed to have shaped the heart behind the project, and anyone who's read or come across those books will easily see that who's read or come across those books will easily see that.
Christopher Williams:Well, as I was saying, seeing it firsthand really had an impression on me. And a few years later the then tourism minister asked me if I would do a documentary, get a documentary prepared for mobility tourism for people in wheelchairs who couldn't get around, to show them where in New South Wales they could actually go and have a great holiday. And we needed something different. So what we did? We used our characters, carrie and Careful, and we actually had them made into big stuffed figures the kangaroo on the back of the wheelchair and Careful Koala in the wheelchair and we had them do the whale watch off Sydney Heads. We actually had them go to the zoo, actually had them in the helicopter do the tour over Sydney to show the people in wheelchairs could actually do these things. And then we went all over New South Wales doing the same thing.
Christopher Williams:I was born dead. There were serious problems with my birth and they brought me back to life, but I'd had a cerebral hemorrhage and a number of other debilitating things and so all my life I've known what it's like to live with disabilities. Can you imagine if you're in primary school and you're the only kid in primary school who's got a pair of glasses with a brown paper patch over one eye. That was one of the problems that I had eye problems I've always had in the middle recently.
Leon Goltsman:Well, it shows a lot of resilience and somebody who just turned that into an advantage.
Christopher Williams:Well, yeah, because I've. Well, I related to other people. We had others growing up when I was at school because we lived through the polio epidemic and I had good friends of mine in primary school who got polio and they had calipers on their legs. So I related to their disabilities through my disability and that's been all the way through.
Leon Goltsman:So each of the five books that you've written? They all have unique messaging and moments. How do the stories in the Caring and Careful series build upon one another to support a child's senses of belonging, learning and wonder?
Christopher Williams:Annie and I wrote the first book, which here it is, here how we Met, and it tells the story that I just said of the bushfire coming through. They live in a little town called Wombat which is just south of Yonge, and poor old Careful got caught. His tree burst into flames, he fell to the ground but bounced up straight into Kerry Kangaroo's pouch and they hopped off to the dock and while they were at the dock a lot of their friends came round, like there was Cranky Kookaburra. He came, flew in and sat through and looked in the window every day to see how they were. And Wobbly Wombat, he's another one of their mates and he has trouble walking and talking, but he came up and he made sure that they were all right every day. And their other mate, headie Emu, who's pretty tall so he stuck his head through the window to look in the doc's surgery to see how they were going. So that's how they all met.
Leon Goltsman:You've taken all these incredible Australian characters and you've brought them to life in a completely different way. Annie, what did you think about that the first time you heard about the idea?
Anne Victoria:I always wanted to do children's illustration. The work that I'd done before was primarily commercial work, large murals or private work in homes, in private homes. When I read Chris's story it was so different. It had such appeal and a lot of tenderness to it. When that little koala got caught and injured and suddenly he's got a newfound friend who takes him to the country dock, he loses an eye. He now is wearing an eye patch for the rest of his life and on top of that he's in a wheelchair. I'd never thought about anything like that and I thought what an unusual, great story. It really caught my heart, and so from then on, all I wanted to do was illustrate every page as well as I could.
Leon Goltsman:I've seen the books, I've got the five books and every page connects me to what it's like in the real world and I can see how this can help so many people. Now these books are already making an impact in special needs classrooms across Australia. What has been the response from the teachers and schools working with children with special needs?
Anne Victoria:Oh, it's been outstanding. One teacher here in Sydney, susie Vale, a special children's teacher, autistic children was quite amazed by her reaction. It was to the effect that all children, not just autistic children, just love the book so well because it is about mateship and helping this injured animal and they form this great friendship. And that's when the beginning of the book starts and you go along their trail of all the different characters they meet upon their journey.
Leon Goltsman:I personally think they should make a cartoon or a miniseries from it, because they really are touching and inspiring.
Anne Victoria:That has been spoken about already. That's one of our goals. Actually, A big goal is to reach that, and maybe not this year, but certainly next year. We would love to have that made as a cartoon.
Leon Goltsman:Definitely something to look forward to. So the Caring and Careful initiative is much, much more than a series of just storybooks. What is the mission behind the Caring and Careful Foundation and how do you envisage it supporting families and schools nationwide?
Christopher Williams:The reason why we've decided to set up as a foundation is that sooner or later me myself and Annie because we're getting on a bit we're going to run out of energy and we wanted this thing to live forever, and so we took advice from various people, our mentor and patron, bill Moss.
Christopher Williams:He was the one who suggested we go down this path and we've had fantastic support in setting it up. So it'll keep going. And the idea of the foundation is to provide every first of all New South Wales special needs child with their own five-book set, and that's about, within five years that'll be about 200,000 kids who'll have their five-book sets and then eventually probably another couple of hundred thousand Australia-wide. So that's why the foundation was set up to provide, through charitable donations, the money to fund the five book sets so that every special needs child in every class, in every school in New South Wales and then around Australia gets to be able to enjoy these books. We've had fantastic support. Here we are, we're sitting in Minda Ellison's beautiful office from thanks to them. They're our pro bono lawyers. We now have Bishop Collins as our pro bono auditors and Trace Accounting as our pro bono bookkeepers to make sure that everything stays on track and so that we can go get along with our job of making sure that the books get out and we get more books.
Leon Goltsman:So you say more books. How many books are we expecting?
Christopher Williams:Well, we'd like to have 10 or 12 eventually. And getting back to the cartoon, this is where Mitter-Ellison come in. They have an AI department, I mean, they have an AI department, and, according to them, within a year or so, there will be an AI application which will enable us to, free of charge, make a series of caring and careful cartoons.
Leon Goltsman:So that's seeing your vision come to life much sooner than you envisage.
Christopher Williams:Oh yes, and Andy will vouch for that, because we had this dream right from the start. Wouldn't it be great as a cartoon? And now it looks like we'll be able to do it within a year or so.
Anne Victoria:Well, absolutely, and when you see them come to life, that's when it really becomes very real for everyone, you know, and that would be the best thing in the world for us to achieve that.
Christopher Williams:Can I just add, talking about, we've got our main characters, Kerry and Careful, and we've got Wobbly Wombat and we've got Heady Emu and we've got Cranky Hookaburra, so-called because he laughed all the time. I'm laughing, Even when Kerry and Careful were at the docks he was laughing, so it made them cranky, so that's why they called him Cranky. And we've got other characters, and one of them is little Penguin, who's a penguin that they found on the beach one day, who was crying because he'd got separated from his parents down in the South Pole and he'd got all the way up to New South Wales' central coast and he needed to get back. Kerry and Careful, with their friends, Outback Jack, who takes them all around Australia, and his dog Bobbers. They went back down to the South Pole and took little Penguin back.
Anne Victoria:And Chris had a great idea when I started illustrating this book. I love this book. He said when they get up there, guess what? He finds his parents, mummy and daddy, but they're emperor penguins, so he puts some crowns on their heads. So I put these beautiful jewel crowns on their heads. I just love that story so much. I think everyone will when they read it.
Christopher Williams:Yeah, and we have a few more books. We were discussing this yesterday with our patron, bill Moss, and some other characters that spring to mind People who go to the outback. They see camels. Where did the camels come from? They were brought here by the Afghanis in the 19th century, and so Kerry and Careful have come across camels on their treks around Australia. So there's a story coming up about that. And there's also the Chinese people who were the ones in the gold rush that did all the cooking and sold all the merchandise. And in country towns there are still Chinese people. And I had an experience in Darwin 60 years ago in about 1970, I think it was that's nearly 60 years ago, I think and we met up with a young Chinese guy who actually took us to their Chinese church, took us to their home to meet his parents and grandparents, and I've never forgotten it and it was wonderful. So there's a story about the Chinese people who live in country towns and they're friends of Kerry and Kevill's as well, kerry, and Kerry certainly do get around.
Christopher Williams:Oh, they do. They do, as a matter of fact. Books four and five in this series are called how we Saw Australia, volume 1, and how we Saw Australia, volume 2. And in the first one we list out about 100, 150 names of towns in Australia, because people say to Kerry and Careful gee, you guys have got funny names. But actually Kerry and Careful respond by saying, well, there are a hell of a lot of towns that have a lot funnier names than we've got. And so the fifth book, book 5, how we Saw Australia, volume two, that revolves around some of the town names are so wonderful that they name them twice like Woi, woi.
Anne Victoria:Exactly. I'm trying to think of some others. There was Bong, bong, wanji, wanji, exactly, yeah.
Christopher Williams:Yeah yeah, yeah, that's true. So they go, you know, they do Woi, woi and they do. Oh see, I've had a mental block. Now there are 10 or 12 towns that they actually travel around Australia to, just because the names were so nice that somebody named them twice.
Leon Goltsman:It's great to see the Australian setting of these stories. It's such a meaningful choice. Why is it important for you to embed Kerry and Keffel in an authentically Australian landscape and culture?
Christopher Williams:Well, for me personally, one of the choices.
Christopher Williams:We had choices when we were kids. We finished uni and we could go overseas if we wanted to and see England and see Europe and see America. But one of my friends and I we decided while we were at university that the first thing we would do would be to travel around Australia so that when we eventually went around the world we'd be able to tell everybody what a wonderful place Australia is. So we did a trip that took us down to Adelaide and all the way up through the middle, all the way up to Darwin and then back again down through Queensland, and that stood us in good stead all my life. I remember a lot of the incidents, a lot of the stories that we heard from people on that trek, back again in 1970, a long, long time ago. But the more Australian culture that we get out there and you can't get more culturally relevant than a kangaroo and a koala who he pushes around in a wheelchair, and that really does come down to demonstrating the Australian way looking after your mates.
Christopher Williams:Exactly, yeah, mateship is one of the underlying themes.
Leon Goltsman:It goes through all the books mateship, looking after a mate when he's doing it tough you know and a lot of people are doing it tough they're not just series of books for children. I think a lot of adults can learn from that too.
Christopher Williams:Oh, absolutely. You know, you've got to make sure you stick by them, no matter what.
Anne Victoria:Yeah, I agree so much. For the last well, quite a few number of years I have been living in Texas. We don't use the word mate over there. It might be buddy, but there's something just so beautiful to me about the word mate. It's so Aussie, Australian, Everyone loves it. You know immediately what it means and it does mean you're my friend and I love that so much.
Leon Goltsman:Yeah, so do I. She'll be right mate. She'll be right mate. Yeah, the values behind caring and careful go way beyond entertainment. I mean we've touched on some very important points. I mean they're also about inclusion and connection, and it's not just connecting the past, which you certainly described quite well, but it's also about paving the way for the future. The future, not just the present where we are now, but the future where we're heading. How do these stories help strengthen families, classrooms and broader communities across Australia?
Christopher Williams:Well, getting back to what I said about when I was growing up, when I was a kid growing up and we had the polio epidemic, we had guys in our class who were victims of polio and we always made sure that they weren't left behind. One of my mates, billy he had calipers on his legs from about 10, I think he was and all the way through school we always made sure that, hey, where's Billy? Yeah, making sure that he was all right and that he was never left out of anything. And our families always tried to include everybody and that was a very important lesson that I think we learned back then.
Leon Goltsman:We all need a reminder as well, because today, times are tough for a lot of people and a lot of people are being left behind in so many ways, I suppose, especially around regional areas, you know the ones that aren't always the loudest voices and then not the ones getting most of the attention.
Christopher Williams:Well, to that point a couple of our really big donors, iga, your local supermarket, and Bendigo Bank. They both concentrate on regional areas, and IGA in particular. They took the view that what we will do, we will provide you with funds via donation to make sure that you have sets of books for special needs kids in the regions. And that's what they're doing. First, we've actually got a presentation at Abednego Bank with IGA next Wednesday at Richmond where the kids in the schools in that area they'll be getting their books.
Leon Goltsman:That is brilliant, and what's interesting is you've got companies from different industries coming together to support an incredible cause. Yeah, we couldn't be more grateful. That's very, very inspiring.
Anne Victoria:It certainly is, and actually this is something that you mentioned at the beginning of this talk how actions speak louder than words. And you're exactly right. You're spot on, Because that's exactly what Chris has got going and it threw so much determination on this gentleman's half.
Leon Goltsman:This is what I love about doing what I do, because I get to meet incredible people, and not people who just say they're going to do something, but people who are actually doing it. The way that I celebrate those people isn't by giving them a pat on the back and telling them how wonderful they are. It's about taking what I've learned and using that to continue their good work, perhaps in different areas, and hopefully inspire other people to do the same. Yeah.
Anne Victoria:And of course, we need the funding. But a lot of people, as you know, can throw a big bunch of money at somebody, but sometimes nothing really gets done after that. Sometimes it's just what Chris has organised and got going is amazing. I've got admiration and respect for him and I'm just lucky that I'm on this journey and doing the books and it is a legacy. Like you said before, it's our legacy, yeah.
Leon Goltsman:That people can get on this journey. They don't have to write the book, but to support it by perhaps buying the book for somebody. But I do recommend people do read it because everyone can learn something from it but also continue inspiring other people and spreading a positive message.
Christopher Williams:Yeah, and just on that. I'm glad you raised that. Thank you, leon. The new initiative that we're starting very soon, there are two really special ones. The first, as Annie said, the Celebrity Readers Program. For example, annie's done a celebrity reading, I've done one, our board members have done one and are going up on our YouTube channel where our host, young Angus, he's done one, and also the Mayor of Gosford, who's a lovely fellow but he's Scottish descent, and to hear him read how we Saw Australia Volume 1, with 150 really funny town names in a Scottish accent is brilliant. So we've got the Celebrity Readers Program and we have a list of celebrities, politicians, sports people, et cetera, et cetera.
Christopher Williams:And the other one that we're doing. This brings us back to the grassroots, if you like. It's called the Reading Appreciation Forum and what we mean by that is we would like people who would like to help. They can make a donation if they would. We'd love them to make a donation, but we would like their time. Most people know a family with a could be a neighbour, could be a relative in a special needs class and, as I said, there are 3,000 special needs kids now in New South Wales who have this set of books and we're looking for volunteers who will join us in this forum and put their hand up and say, hey, I've got five weeks. I'm going to read to one of the kids I know, with his parents' permission, of course one of the Karey and Kareful books every week for five weeks.
Leon Goltsman:That's a great challenge. That'll certainly keep the kids off the screens.
Christopher Williams:I'm sure every parent would love that yeah, and we'd like to hear from anybody who would like to be involved in the Reading Appreciation Forum, to join us in that forum and, as I said, stick their hand up and say, yeah, I know somebody, I'll get together with them and read those books over five weeks. A book a week for five weeks.
Leon Goltsman:And you know what. We're going to put some information in the show notes, and we might even help get that message across other ways as well. So let's see what we can do.
Anne Victoria:Yes, we do want support. We absolutely love getting support. It just helps us grow and actually feel more stronger and confident about achieving really our goal, and you know we have many goals to complete.
Leon Goltsman:And the thing is with goal setting and with helping people, which is what you're asking for support the thing is about. Support is when people do something good for others, and we've seen the pattern over and over and over again we've talked about it on our previous podcast that when you do good for others, you're actually doing good for yourselves.
Anne Victoria:Oh, absolutely yeah, You're giving yourself a gift back and it can be a parent or a grandparent that can go to one of the schools. Work it out with the principal before they go and go around to one of these classes and maybe pull one or two children out to another classroom and simply start reading to them or getting them to read these books on a volunteer basis. They do that a lot in Texas and it's very, very it's practically in every school over there in the elementary schools.
Leon Goltsman:So we can see many listeners will be moved by your story and will definitely want to help out in some way For people listening right now, and that includes parents, teachers, business owners or anyone who cares about inclusion. What are the best ways that they can help Kerry and Kefl to be a part of this journey?
Christopher Williams:Well, yeah, Okay, first of all, as we've said, we're always looking for funding, support, charitable donations, people to give us money to get more books printed, to get more Fire printed, to get more five-book sets out. But the other thing is people to join the reading appreciation forum and to read a set of books with the special needs kids, or they might be able to help us by way of distribution. We're working with one of the Lions Club in the Georges River area Oatley Lions Club, and they've funded 405 book sets and we were with the local MP, mark Coorie, this morning and we're working out the best way of getting those 400 sets which the Lions Club already have, about 400 special needs kids in the 40 schools in the Georgia River area. That's what they're working on at the moment and there's any number of ways. We do it through the PNCs, we do it through the Principals Association, we do it through the Education Department itself.
Christopher Williams:There's a whole number of ways. We do it through the PNCs, we do it through the Principals Association and we do it through the Education Department itself. There's a whole lot of ways. Everyone who wants to contribute. All they have to do is get in touch with us. Please call us on the Bush Telegraph, 0433 125 561, or go to the website, which is the modern Bush Telegraph wwwcarryandcarefulfoundationorgau.
Leon Goltsman:Fantastic as we said earlier before our conversation, before we started recording is that often you hear a lot of people who say they're going to do something and they'll keep saying it. They can back their words with action and, in this case, do something. Pick up the phone ring, get on the website, but, whatever it is, get off your screens and get to work.
Anne Victoria:Yeah, I do like that. Get off your screens and it helps everybody converse in a better way. And I also want to thank you so much for having us here today. It's been a real pleasure to be with you. I can see your enthusiasm and I'm very grateful for it. Thank you very much.
Leon Goltsman:Thank you so much. It's absolutely amazing to be part of your journey, and I'm very confident that this is not just a journey for us.
Christopher Williams:It's creating a movement yeah, you see, as we've talked a lot about in the last half hour or so, reading is our bag. Reading is really important and not enough reading is being done these days. So the message that we would like people to take away is that these books, as one of our special needs teachers said when she first saw them for our special needs kids terrific, but I think that every kindergarten kid should have these books to read. Terrific, but I think that every kindergarten kid should have these books to read. So we'd like to make sure that there's an opportunity for all kids of all ages to read the Karey and Kareful Storybooks.
Leon Goltsman:Well, thank you very much for coming on. I'm already getting plenty of ideas and a lot of people that I can reach out to. I'm inspired by what you're doing, thank you.
Christopher Williams:We find you inspiring, Leon.
Leon Goltsman:Thank you so much Thank you, and the future is bright ahead.
Anne Victoria:Thank you so so much.
Leon Goltsman:Yeah, and how good is that? What a moving conversation with Christopher Williams and Anne Victoria and a powerful reminder that mateship, inclusion and community spirit aren't just values from the past. They're the building blocks for the kind of Australia that we want to see in the future. We explored how Cary and Careful grew from a heartfelt poem during drought and bushfires into a national mission, one that already brings joy, hope and resilience to special needs children across the country. Their work shows what happens when creativity meets compassion and when businesses and individuals step up to help each other.
Leon Goltsman:If you'd like to get involved, visit the Caring, careful Foundation website, join the Reading Appreciation Forum, sponsor a set books or simply share this story with someone who can help it grow. Every action counts, and I want to hear from you too. What did this episode spark for you? How do you think we can keep Mateship alive in today's world? Email me anytime at leongoltzman at ecohqcomau, because this podcast isn't just about the voices we feature. It's about the community that we're building together.
Leon Goltsman:So, if this conversation resonated, do three quick things. Follow the show on your favourite platform yes, we're available on all the major ones. Share this episode with someone who believes in the power of community and leave a quick review to help others find and join the conversation. Special thanks once again to Niaz Cannoth and the team at Invest Intelligence, proud supporters of this podcast and champions of purpose, progress and connection. And stay tuned for our upcoming episodes, including inspiring women tackling work in industries traditionally dominated by men. These are the kinds of conversations that will challenge what you think and know, leave you inspired and maybe even change the way you see the world. I'm Leon Goltsman, and until next time, let's keep showing up, let's keep helping each other and let's keep building the Australia that we all want to be a part of together.
