AFRICAN WOMAN WINS AN AWARD

She came. She saw. And conquered. Yenenesh Gebre, 55, who fled Ethiopia with her three young sons in 1992 after her husband was killed, is this year’s winner of the prestigious Irene Krastev Award for her significant contribution to community life in Australia.

Her achievement is even more remarkable given the fact that she didn’t speak a word of English when she first arrived Australia. She started learning the language from the scratch. But the language struggle inspired her to help others.

“Because of my experience, I promised myself to help other refugees”, she said, with a beautiful smile.

Now, she is the true believer in the power of language and the written word, as an effective weapon against boredom and culture shock.