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The Gift of Unwavering Strength: Celebrating the Tenacity of Women who Transcend Boundaries and Nourish Healing

• Tabitha MacDonald • Episode 25

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When Vivianne Dawalibi recounts her voyage from the sweeping deserts of Sudan to the majestic mountains of Armenia, you can't help but feel the weight of every word. I, Tabitha MacDonald, had the sheer privilege of unpacking Vivianne's awe-inspiring narrative—her intuitive knack for catalyzing change in the most daunting situations, from negotiating hostage releases to molding government policy, all the more remarkable without formal higher education. Her saga is a testament, not only to her own indomitable spirit, but to the power of unyielding determination in all of us.

You can find Vivianne at https://calbbs.com.au/.  

Are you ready to feel supported on your healing journey?  The Soma Flow Library of Healing is now available.  With a powerful meditations, hypnosis sessions and Superconscious Recodes to restructure your unconscious patterns, this is a must have tool to your journey back to you.  

About Tabitha
Tabitha MacDonald is an Intuitive Coach and Healer committed to helping people overcome their pain as fast as possible so that they can have the love, success, freedom and fulfillment they truly desire.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Mindful Love Podcast. My name is Tabitha McDonald. I am an intuitive coach and I am very excited to have a special guest on the podcast today. Her name is Vivian DeWalibi. She is the founder, owner, managing director, practice manager of Kalundra Health Hub in Queensland, australia.

Speaker 1:

Vivian was born north of Sudan to Syrian parents. She served humanity for two decades, assisting the Office of the United Nations Refugee and providing solutions to the vast refugees-related integration issues during emergency operations. In 1981, she was awarded with the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize certificate in Sudan. In 1996, she was awarded with the prestigious UNESCO Peace Prize certificate in Armenia for her work with orphaned children. She continues to be of service to those in need by running two heart-centered businesses providing vital health care services to the community, a testament to her unwavering commitment to fostering well-being and accessibility to critical health care resources to an underserved population. Welcome, vivian. I am so excited to have you on my podcast today and to have another fellow magnetic-mind colleague to explain the work and also just to like sharing your journey of transformation and of heroism. I read a lot of your story and I was very inspired by it.

Speaker 2:

Thank you very much, lily. It's my honor to really meet you and be part of your podcast service and I hope my story will really inspire people how they can really break barriers, regardless of the challenges we really come through our lives.

Speaker 1:

I love that. I think that we need more tales of heroism in our world, flooding the media so that people know it's possible. I wanted to start. You had some interesting life experiences interesting, to say the least, but that were really quite challenging. That you overcame, like some pretty big heartbreaks, and when I think about heartbreak, it's not just having somebody leave you, it's also going and working with refugees and sitting with that kind of heartbreak every day. And how do you find strength in that? Then also your own personal heartbreak, the loss of your husband, and how you took that opportunity to really fuel your purpose. I would love for you to like discuss maybe your work with the refugees and then your personal story as well.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, one of my really big life change was my work with the United Nations Refugee Agency. At that time, I have been deprived from furthering my education, as they said. However, I joined the United Nations and the demand was so big and I was just so excited, determined to make a difference in the lives of these people. Coming from the, the north part of Sudan, where I was born, we haven't seen any refugees, but when I moved to the capital, fartoum, the capital of Sudan, and I worked with the United Nations Refugee Agency and we were hosting more than two and a half million refugees from various African countries and I saw how devastated they were, malnourished, they had nothing, abused, discriminated. However, I that really seeing the reality made me, made really the fire lit inside me that I have to make a difference in the lives of these people, and I really very quickly climbed the ladder from being in the finance initially to the admin and then I moved to the field, and that is when I really started to have direct contact with the refugees and understand more their needs, and I have been.

Speaker 2:

I played an important role as a caliber, negotiating between various agencies and the government and really we succeeded to provide solutions. That was the time when I was awarded with Nobel Peace Prize because I really overcome very tough situation for one of the international agencies that have been kept as a hostage and my lobby to the government I had to free them. I didn't know at that time we were really looked at or evaluated. For me it was my mission, no understanding very well. My mission is there to serve and regardless, whatever the situation, how tough it is, it didn't really bother me. I was focused on the end result of helping these people, making a difference in their lives. It was a very tough operations but again, as I said, my strong inner fire was to help people. That's a really positive in their lives.

Speaker 1:

So you helped free people who were being held captive, correct, wow. That is a true testament to just staying in the end result and taking one step at a time, because there's so much unpredictability in that situation.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, how did you get your?

Speaker 1:

guidance? Where did it come from, when you were like, ok, this is the next step.

Speaker 2:

It's intuitive because I didn't have high qualification as I said, I just finished year 12, but I grew up with the United Nations, facing situations and using my own intuitive skill or spiritual guidance. And that is what I have done. And in Armenia, when I did the UNESCO Peace Prize, it was a big country program for the orphans. There was 54 orphanages in the country. All these young babies were kept in this institution in a very hardship situation. And when I was doing my field visit and seeing the hardship and I was talking with the managers of the centers and I understood they were not all orphans. They were there because of the poverty.

Speaker 2:

After the Nakhournou Karabakh Civil War, many of these families really had to flee. They had only what they have on their body and nothing more or nothing less. So, seeing this hardship for these babies, I couldn't take it. And that's when I did a country survey to understand what is the admission or the enrollment criteria for these children and it became a decree in the government to change the enrollment criteria and I was awarded by UNESCO Peace Prize for this service. Wow, I did as well.

Speaker 1:

It looks at a widespread governmental problem and you said I have a solution that's going to help everyone and you really stayed in your authority on it and I want to commend you for doing that without education, because I know a lot of people have imposter syndrome because they don't have the degree to back their vision or their dream. But intuition, I think, will sometimes I mean in my experience has overwritten the need for that and I love that you let that hold you back, that you followed your intuition and knew that you were supported. That's amazing because that makes massive changes in not just your life but so many people's lives.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, very true. I used to have that limiting belief inside me. I'm not good enough because I work with all masters and degrees and I am here only with year 12. But my determination to make a difference was the key to my success and I really managed to work even with the government in Armenia. And I was threatened to really leave the country in 24 hours if I open my mouth and speak anything about mental health institution. And I couldn't take it because I knew there was a need. They were just keeping people, not even with mental health issues, kept isolated in that horrible condition.

Speaker 2:

And I went really all the way from the social minister to they pushed me to the education minister, from the education minister to the health minister and when I reached the health minister he warned me in 24 hours you have to deport Armenia if you open your mouth on this matter. Wow, and that did not even stop me. I really pursued and I really made a big change to that institution. I was given a green light to go and assess and we developed that place to a different acceptable living condition. So for me it's my determination. Nothing will stop in front of me when I know there is a need. And I came to know that there is a need. I could not take it to stop.

Speaker 1:

That is really inspiring. That's amazing. What gets you through the days where you have doubt and fear, like when you were going through all of that because you've had other heartbreak as well. What gets you through the days where you're like, oh my gosh, I could die if I continue this work. What got you through it?

Speaker 2:

Is my purpose, was my driving force. I completely understood I'm here for a mission, I'm here for a purpose and I have a strong face. I was always guarded. I went through very dangerous situations, very risky situations in my operations, but nothing really stopped me from pursuing my career, my service, my mission and my purpose. I have very strong resilience inside me. I am very courageous, very resilient and my mind I always put what is the end result.

Speaker 1:

Nice. That is, I think, the key right, because that's whenever you're building something that you don't know how you're building it and you do feel purpose-driven. It is what's the end result and then there's only one next step. I think that's the hardest thing for people to myself included to lean into, and when you have that deep purpose, it's like I just want the whole how is it going to work out? You just have to keep getting an end result and go OK, it's just one step, one step, one step and trusting your guidance.

Speaker 2:

That's why I love you. I like the program of the magnetic mind of Chris Duncan because, again, I have done a lot since I came to Australia. I have done a lot of self-development and he's very correct when he said the self-development kept me. Look what I'm not good enough at. So by changing my mind is mainly what? Because I achieved so much, even when I lost my husband, I couldn't really fit with the community, who wanted me to feel low. I left Sydney, I moved to Queensland, I invested in this medical practice. I focused into making a difference in the lives. Especially, I lost my husband to heart condition. So my mission became give access to people to take care of their health.

Speaker 1:

Even though I didn't have enough knowledge about health or the Australian health system, I jumped into the deep and now, 20 years, in August this year- that's amazing and I love that switch in your direction too, because I think sometimes people don't realize that as they grow and change, their purpose can shift and it's usually the same heart-centered mission of helping others right. But maybe how you do it shifts and changes with how your life shifts and changes.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, no, that is really what I have inside me when I want, and now I am shifting career as well. Now I work 20 years with the United Nations. I really manage this medical practice now in August. 20 years and now I am going to really share my story because I had really overcome this limiting belief I'm not good enough. I was always behind the desk, I was always hiding, but now I broke that chain and now I'm ready to share my story. Inspire people's hearts and inspire them. If I can do it, they can too.

Speaker 1:

I love that, yeah, that's a. I think that we I think a lot of people see a lot of the negativity in the world, but I think there's so much beauty, like there's so many heroes out there who said I've gone through hard stuff and I feel like we learn in community, so we learn by watching other people thrive and succeed. It's it's not a comparison model, it's inspiration, right. It's like you can't make a way. You're just in the wrong structure, right. When we talk about the structure of reality, if you're in the structure of the problem, you can't see the solution.

Speaker 1:

But as soon as you step into how do I want to feel? I want to feel of service, I want to have purpose, I want to be in meaningful, then the stuff that's scary isn't so scary and it's not as hard, and so I think that's what, that's definitely what carries me through. When I'm like record on the podcast and I felt all of the things right, like who are you? It's, it's all about it. Yeah, I can, I could totally relate, like all of your imposter syndrome and things like that come up and then, and then you do it, and then you make a difference and then you keep doing it because it feels good, just feels good, to be of service.

Speaker 2:

Very true, very true. It's all about our mind where we focus. And if we focus on a problem, we will not get anywhere. We will be stuck in that energy and that's where I always program my mind on the solution. How can I solve? How can I be of effect positively on the lives of others? How can I improve situation? I changed the program in Armenia. It was emergency operation and I changed the whole scope into integration, created different income generation programs and that helped me.

Speaker 2:

Even when I came to Australia as a refugee and my husband health was not really the best. I couldn't stay. I really was hit by depression but I didn't really stay. I went to the church. I established a welfare association and I did a survey to the needs of the community. I created an accredited training course on certificate for small business management and I have done. I received funds from three levels from the federal to the state, to the local government.

Speaker 2:

I run six weeks courses to help people to have an identity. They are not here just a number. Yeah, because that's always my belief and that's what I really lost when I came to Australia. Because working for the UN you have an identity, but when I came to Australia. I had to build my identity, I had to create it and that was one of my really strengths that really helped me keep on going. I'm not here, remember. I am here with an identity to really contribute and that's where I what I have done. And when I lost my husband again, I have done a lot in Colandra in the medical practice. I developed it and I gave different services to the community and now I'm really ready to hand it to other doctor who will continue my mission and I want to sell it to someone with similar values and a mission to give access to the people with love and care.

Speaker 1:

I love that that is such a powerful. That's such a powerful gift. My day job is I work with pain and that's what I do for a living is I treat pain, and I love that there's people out there who are offering services to people who are in pain or who don't have access to health because they think it's needed. It's important that people know I mean I know that when you're in pain or you're sick or you don't have access to health, that the fear that that creates within a person is really intense and then that makes the problem even bigger. So I love that.

Speaker 1:

I have a very similar heart centered mission around healthcare, but it's my passion project. Can we talk about how you got through the grief and the loss of your husband a little bit, Because I know that I have some clients that I work with who really get trapped in the grief of losing a loved one and I think that it's one of those things that can feel hopeless. I guess it would be the word Like. If you were gonna be talking to other women out there who've lost their husbands, or husbands who've lost their wives or even any family member, what kind of words of encouragement would you give them to help them?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, very, very valid question. Coming from a culture where a woman has to have a man to support her, and after losing my husband, I felt really initially that was at the very beginning of my grief. I felt lost and I determined that no, I have to change my perspective. I started to look on the life, how we live together, because he was a UN volunteer as well, he served humanity as well and he used to be a head of office and he has done great deal of work to help elderly refugees, single women refugees, single men refugees. We built shelters, we did agriculture, we did a lot. So I really changed my perspective instead of going feeling the loss. The feeling of the loss was there, but I didn't really energize it. I changed my perspective into celebration. I was celebrating his great deed, what he has done, what he has contributed, and I believe that is everyone has the journey. We are always starting from a point A and we will end up in point B. So it is my belief, my change of perspective, instead of just sitting and that is what I felt. I don't fit within my community because they wanted me to really fit into the misery of losing your husband.

Speaker 2:

All you are young to be and I was only 46 when I really lost my husband. Three years only, new arrival to Australia, just resigned from the UNHCR after 20 years. A lot of big changes in my life. But change was really big. But my determination to always look at the positive side and help me determine.

Speaker 2:

Even I left All my family in Sydney. I moved by myself with my son to Queensland because I always believe in creating a new change. And that is what happened. That resilience, that storage, that strength, that positive thought, thought, determination helped me to overcome all these. And buying a medical practice without being clinical or experienced in the health system in Australia helped me to really dive in and focus on how I can learn, how can I accredited the center, how can I be of service to the community. And all these helped me to share. My time passed by and I felt year after year that I'm more stronger and when, initially, when I used to remember my husband, I used to cry, but later I just started to feel peace, that I am continuing his mission and continue.

Speaker 1:

That makes my heart happy Because I think that we always hear a lot of stories of unhappy relationships and to me that just gave me a heart, a big heart, where it was like, oh, I love that, how you can find love and service together and celebrate their life, and when we are allowed to feel sad and grief, but it is the celebrating of the experience that you had together and the life that he lived and the beauty that he created in the world, like that's just so inspiring and that just makes my heart like super happy.

Speaker 2:

I did the same with some ladies who lost their husbands. We created like an inner circle and we were just talking about the grief and how we can just change. Even at one stage one lady was at 52 years experience with her husband and she just lost him. So we had to really break through all the obstacles of her mindset to really change the perspective. It took a little bit of work but at the end she felt so relieved no more grief but appreciation and really we were circulating the memories that they left us with. And I do that every year. I celebrate the memories that I cherish.

Speaker 1:

Oh, that's such a beautiful gift. I was on a plane recently I think it was on the way to San Diego and I ran into the airline hostess who had the proper name. But she said she was still grieving the loss of her dog from 13 years ago and I thought, oh, I wish I could help you shift and shift into it, but like an invited advice when you're seeing someone. I don't wanna impose my beliefs on people, but it did make me realize that people can get trapped in grief for so long and that the people who they lost probably don't want them to get up there.

Speaker 2:

They want them to live and carry on Correct and the people you surround yourself with makes a big difference. If we are really surrounding ourselves with people who have no hope, who have no vision and they don't really. They are just living day after day with no purpose it makes it hard to really help them shift. But when you stand up and show them, this is where I was and this is where I am, and these are the steps I took to take responsibility of my life, because I can choose to be miserable and not be effective to anyone, or I can stand up strong and courageous and have better impact on people's life, because we are all one energy and our energy really affects others. And that is the talk I really I had to really show her.

Speaker 2:

If you are this sad and this particular lady she didn't even knew how to use a credit card Because she was so much dependent on her husband and now that support is no longer there and she had to learn baby steps how to shape her future. We made it simple for her not to think it's so big on your mind to feel overwhelmed. Baby steps, she is now so contributing to others as well. It's amazing.

Speaker 1:

It's amazing. What a beautiful gift and it is leadership, isn't it? In our community, and showing people what it looks like to have resiliency and not to be a vulnerability. I mean that's a key for me. So when I think about because you said you have a son, I have a daughter and whenever I think of my past self, the one who was struggling, I always think what would I tell my past self? Maybe that I could tell my daughter so that she has less struggle in her life? What are some of the things that maybe you wish you could go back and tell your past self, the one who was struggling or having a hard time or questioning herself on her journey?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, when I look back, I can tell my inner self, or young self, I'm grateful for the challenges that I went through, even though they were really tough sometimes. But every challenge I went through was an opportunity for me to become stronger and build strength, encourage and overcome obstacles. That was one of the things. And one of the other things is to celebrate, I tell my inner self, is whatever small or big achievements, celebrate, celebrate so that you are always in the positive energy, with gratitude, overcoming, looking at where you have been, and even small achievements, just celebrate. And this celebration, this gratitude, helps build up the emotion. And that really building up on the positive emotion helped me to have any challenge, I don't look at it as a challenge, I look at it as an opportunity for me. Okay, what's next? I mean, now I have done so many things.

Speaker 1:

What are some of the ways that you celebrate, because I think sometimes people struggle to celebrate themselves. I know they do. In the United States. We have some misguided definitions of what that looks like and prideful and arrogant and things like that. So how do you celebrate yourself? Very true.

Speaker 2:

I had to really overcome two things. One, the culture. In our culture, when you have a tragedy, don't celebrate. You have to remain in that emotion. I had to break through that and accept Celebrating. It could be just walking and just giving gratitude to the experience. I'm telling myself that I am Christian by faith. I always give gratitude and thanks to my God, who really helped me, who is present in my life, who guided me, supported me with the wisdom to overcome this situation. So that is a simple gratitude, is a celebration. So I remain positive, I remain in my strength, power. I remain with the gross mindset, I remain with appreciation. That is the simple celebration that I do.

Speaker 1:

I mean, that is the easiest and it's the freest and it's available to us always. So I think that is the perfect way to celebrate. Okay, so I have one last question for you before we're wrapping up here. If you were deserted on a desert island, what book would you bring to keep you company, and why?

Speaker 2:

I will really take with me the book of great, the power of passion and perseverance. This is a book that really I take it with me all the time. It's like my Bible. It has very nice quotes how to overcome barriers, how to overcome obstacles and how to welcome and appreciate and give gratitude to all the challenges we pass through, because they make us. Every experience makes us stronger and a better person, ready for the next challenge.

Speaker 1:

I love it. That's great. I think I've read that. If not, I know it's in my library to read, so I'm going to make that a.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's a very good book. I'm going to put that on the top of my reading list.

Speaker 1:

Oh, thank you so much for joining me today. I am so grateful and grateful that you shared your beautiful story. It is just such an inspiration and I love getting to know people's journeys in this lifetime and the struggles that they've overcome, and I just find it really inspiring how we can experience so much pain but we can keep on going and we can keep creating and we can say that's not going to be the thing that stops me. I'm going to keep going and serving and finding beauty in the world. I love stories like that. So you're just perfect, absolutely.

Speaker 2:

I believe always in raising my bars.

Speaker 1:

That's how creators live, right. We just keep raising the bar. I'm going to take with me the celebrate along the way. I don't do that enough, so I love that. I love that reminder. Anything else that you want to say before we close off our interview today?

Speaker 2:

One thing I can say is really investing yourself. That's the message to everyone is to invest in yourself. Have really peaceful time to really go deep and discover what's your purpose, what's your mission, what is really the fire within that really ignite your life and pursue it. Just pursue it. It could be anything for anyone, but now I am developing my course as well how to really break barriers? Oh no, that is draws through hard breaks and that is breaking barriers. That is my mission because, as I said, I really had so many heartbroken situations, but I never looked at it like that. I just pursued myself to what is the best, how can I be more effective and impact more people's lives. So that's how I broke through the barriers.

Speaker 1:

I love it. I love it. Well, good luck. I think that the world needs more of that and more people like you inspiring others to do the same. Just super grateful for you and the work that you do. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. I'll post your website down below in the show notes in case anyone wants to find you. Thank you so much.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, thank you, patti, thank you, I really, for the trust to choose me to speak. Thank you, I appreciate that.

Speaker 1:

I couldn't have imagined a better example of resiliency and just breaking through our barriers. That's beautiful story, thank you.

Speaker 2:

I really broke through the cultural barriers. I had so many restrictions, being a girl, being a woman. As I said, I couldn't go to university because I'm a woman. Yeah, nothing, let's not stop you.

Speaker 1:

I love it. You've got a fire inside that we need to just put in a bottle and sell. That's right, thank you. All right, thank you.

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