This week we have the legend that is Julia Vahry on the show. It was a real eye opener talking to Julia about her years of working as a police officer and how she made the pivot out of this career track into running her own business. Julia went from patrolling communities to serving communities with much needed measures with which people could insure their livelihoods.
Julia gets very candid in this interview and talks about juggling her profession in a high intensity police environment with being a mother and how she navigated the inevitable PTSD that comes from such a high stress vocation. She retells powerful stories of having been on the police communications dispatch as the Christchurch earthquakes were happening and how she went down to the area post-Earthquake to help with the at risk communities there.
It is not often we get to hear the stories from the lives of police officers and the work and potential dangers they have to face day in and day out. As regular citizens, we often forget about his. For me this was a particularly insightful interview as being a police officer is one of those professions I would never be able to do, no way. I have to admit that I felt the beginning of a panic attack at some parts of her stories, and then at others I just felt my jaw drop to the ground.
Historic feats by amazing women
We cover a lot of ground with Julia, from her great great grandfather being the mayor of Christchurch during quite a formative time in that city, to how her family purchased Kate Sheppard’s house (from her and her husband in 1902) and lived there for 37 years until it became a national heritage site - 128 years ago this amazing female activist carried the fight that ultimately led to New Zealand being the first country in the world where women could vote and thus impacting and empowering the lives of women everywhere on the planet.
In many ways the Kate Shepard connection is truly symbolic of the way Julia’s life has panned out and the impact she has made on everyone around her. She founded and catalysed the Step up and Save Lives campaigns, which together in partnership with the New Zealand Blood Service resulted in one of the largest blood donation drives in this country’s history. This resulted in Julia being rewarded with a much deserved Kiwi Bank New Zealander of the Year Local Hero award at the end of 2020.
Stick around till the end of this podcast, you will love every minute of it. Yes it is 2 hours and a bit but we’re definitely going to have to have Julia back on again as there are still so many stories left to tell!
Remember sharing is caring and donating is a form of sharing. If you can’t afford to subscribe to the podcast or newsletter that is totally okay, you will always be able to access it for free. If you feel like sending me a one off Paypal donation (to chrisvonroy@gmail.com) then that would be awesome. Otherwise you can also become a patron on Patreon.
Thank you very much.
Mauri Ora.
“It takes generosity to discover the whole through others. If you realize you are only a violin, you can open yourself up to the world by playing your role in the concert.”
The legend himself, Jacques Yves Cousteau.
The Word KUPU #8 - Julia Vahry