Heard and Not Seen - The Barnardo's Podcast

Heard and Not Seen
Heard and Not Seen - The Barnardo's Podcast

We believe that every child should have a voice. In each episode of Heard and Not Seen, a podcast by Barnardo's, we talk to inspiring children and young people who have faced unimaginable challenges and have incredible stories to tell. We also talk to the project workers, front line staff and experts involved in their journeys.

  1. Oral History Project - Valerie Mason-John

    01/05/2021

    Oral History Project - Valerie Mason-John

    Our Oral History Project is a platform for people to talk honestly and openly about their experiences of race and racism throughout their lives, including while in our care. As a charity committed to becoming anti-racist, we continue to learn from our past, including our mistakes.  We are grateful to everyone who contributed to this podcast, for sharing their honest experiences.  The conversations have sometimes highlighted examples where our practice several decades ago did not meet the standards we adhere to today. We are wholly committed to listening and learning from the lived experiences shared here in these podcasts.  Please listen to this with an open heart and an open mind.  - Today we have another conversation between 2 generations.   Valerie was born in 1962. Like Marine and Julienne and - who you heard in previous episodes - she also spent some of her time in care in the Barnardo’s girls village in Barkingside in East London. Now, she’s a well known author and public speaker, and her TED talk on bullying has over 360,000 views on Youtube.  Stacy also spent time in the care system. She’s 19 in this conversation, making her 37 younger Valerie. She’s actually the younger sister of Irene, who you’ve also met in previous episodes.   We hear Valerie share how she ended up in prison aged just 15, Stacy explains how she and her sister ‘reclaimed their blackness’, and together they talk about how their time in care has shaped them as people.  The purpose of this type of conversation is to give 2 people, one older and one younger, the chance to compare and contrast a shared life experience - specifically, spending time in care as women of colour. It gives each of them an opportunity to swap some of the wisdom and knowledge they’ve gained on their respective journey’s, and allows us the chance to learn something too. Disclaimer: as we are making an effort to keep the voice of the guests authentic, this episode contains language that may be considered offensive to some listeners.

    22 min
  2. Oral History Project - Winston Norton

    10/29/2020

    Oral History Project - Winston Norton

    The Oral History Project episode today is a conversation between Winston and Tyjae, both men of colour who have spent time in the care system.   Winston was placed in care with Barnardo’s at the age of three, after his father, a soldier who had been stationed in the UK during WW2, returned to the US. He grew up in foster care and spent his teenage years in William Baker Technical School, known as Goldings, a residential school run by Barnardo's in Hertfordshire. The school is known, among many things, for providing all the Wimbledon ball boys between 1946 to 1966. Winston was one of them.  He’s talking to Tyjae, a young man from London, who attends our Youthbuild Academy in Lewisham. He, too, spent time in care in his early years. In this conversation, they each share their experiences of racism, Winston explains his involvement in his local Black Lives Matter protests and the hope he feels seeing young people’s interest in politics and social justice, and Tyjae, who is an aspiring musician, gets to play Winston some of his music.  The purpose of this type of conversation is to give 2 people, one older and one younger, the chance to compare and contrast a shared life experience. They get to swap some of the wisdom and knowledge they’ve gained on their respective journey’s, and we get to learn something too. Disclaimer: In an effort to keep the authentic voice of the guests, this episode contains language that may be considered offensive to some listeners.

    17 min

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We believe that every child should have a voice. In each episode of Heard and Not Seen, a podcast by Barnardo's, we talk to inspiring children and young people who have faced unimaginable challenges and have incredible stories to tell. We also talk to the project workers, front line staff and experts involved in their journeys.

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