Defenders’ Wellbeing Podcast Ep 4

Financial wellness, a topic often overlooked or considered taboo in activist circles, is crucial for sustainable movement work, and ignoring it comes at a significant cost, especially for human rights defenders in the Global South. Episode 4 looks into myths around money, wealth, and scarcity that activists may have, and discusses sustainable financial practices, even with limited income and without shame. The episode also highlights the vital role that collective care and mutual aid play in this transformation.

The episode features Salome Nduta and Thiyagaraja Waradas.

Salome Nduta is a committed Woman Human Rights Defender, feminist, and gender expert with over nine years of experience advancing the protection and empowerment of activists in Kenya. She is the founder and Executive Director of the Women Human Rights Defenders Hub—Kenya’s only national organization dedicated to supporting women advocates through holistic safety, security, and movement-building initiatives.

Thiyagaraja Waradas is a Sri Lankan academic and activist with extensive experience in peacebuilding, human rights, gender and sexualities, and development practice. A leading advocate for sexual and gender justice, he helped decentralize Sri Lanka’s LGBT rights movement and co‑founded the country’s first LGBT welfare fund in 2018.