When Isha Knill decided a couple of months ago to tell her inspirational story of survival at a networking event little did she know what would happen on the same day as she bravely recounted the challenges she faced.
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Just hours before she was interviewed about losing everything in Zimbabwe before moving to Australia she heard the news that long time ruler Robert Mugabe bad been placed under house arrest.
After he became prime minister in 1980 and then president in 1987 things changed dramatically for white families who were forced to leave their farms.
That began a three year period of uncertainty for Mrs Knill and her family about what might happen to them during the redistribution of land.
Around the same time she lost her first child soon after she was born and the family became dependent on Mrs Knill’s fabric craft business.
At Thriving Women on Thursday she spoke of how hard it was to know when their land would be taken and how difficult it was to make the decision to leave everything they owned behind.
They initially moved to England enroute to Australia before landing in Queensland where they slept on people’s floors and rummaged through garage sales.
They later moved to Mackay and Deniliquin for work and eventually made their way to Wollongong where Mrs Knill rejuvenated her creativity on canvas and runs a business, career and personal coaching/mentoring business.
She hopes agreeing to be interviewed about her personal journey at Thriving Women will inspire other Illawarra women.
While her husband Peter works for Shoalhaven council she now uses all life has taught her to run workplace training, mindful workshops and leadership and business focus days.
She has delivered inspirational talks to women on Australian farms experiencing severe drought and given them hope by telling them what she did when things seemed hopeless in Zimbabwe.
Mrs Knill also shares her story on her website but on Thursday when she was put on the spot and asked what she would do if she met Mugabe today her reply was one of dignity and grace.
She said she may even thank him because everything she has gone through has made her the person she is today.
Just hours before speaking at the women’s group she found herself replying to a message from a cousin about Mugabe being placed under arrest.
She hoped what was happening was peaceful and then got teary because what she had been through was so hard and tough.
“But the flip side to that is I have learnt so much. I have been to the depths of my soul and I’ve dug and dug. I have amazing children and a wonderful marriage. We have worked so hard to make a life in Australia. I have often reflected on it and I think if Mugabe walked into the room today I actually think I would thank him because I have been to places I would never have gone to before. In a way that is a privilege because you learn so much about yourself,” she said.
Thriving Women networking events at the Yallah Woolshed in 2018 are scheduled for February 22, April 5, May 17, June 28, August 9, September 20 and November 1.
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