By Danielle Kutchel
The South East Business Networks celebrated International Women’s Day early with a breakfast attended by members of the Greater Dandenong business community.
Importantly, it wasn’t just women in the room on the morning of Thursday 5 March: men were also there to listen to the inspiring stories of some of the boldest women in Dandenong and Victoria.
Following the International Women’s Day 2020 theme ‘Each for Equal’, speakers focused on their contributions to make the world a better place.
The keynote speaker was Annabelle Chauncy OAM, founding director of the School for Life Foundation.
Ms Chauncy spoke of her burning desire to help others, which led to a stint volunteering in Africa teaching English to children in Kenya, and her transformation from a law student stuck in a rut to a passionate charity director.
She was evacuated from Kenya when war broke out and found herself in Uganda.
Determined to find a new path, she decided to see where she could contribute there.
“Sometimes we find ourselves at a crossroads. Do we throw in the towel, give it up, go home, or adapt and find a new way forward?” she asked the crowd.
On her way to the airport home she scratched out a business plan on a piece of paper, focusing on her desire empower local people to help themselves and her belief in the power of education.
School for Life was born in 2008 and has now grown to comprise two primary schools and a large secondary school.
Teachers are provided with professional development opportunities and children with disabilities are fully catered for.
Ms Chauncy encouraged her audience to give back to those less fortunate, to not failure get them down, and to find their passion.
“When you’re driven by purpose, you’ll attract purpose-driven people,” she said.
Ms Chauncy was followed by Margo Hartley, co-founder of Hilton Manufacturing.
Another philanthropic soul, Ms Hartley received an OAM in 2014 for service to the Dandenong community and to youth through the Scouting movement.
This year, she received the Dandenong Living Treasure Australia Day Award in recognition of her ongoing contribution to the region.
She outlined her philosophy: “you can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.”
Dandenong joint Young Leader of the Year Tanishka Sharma concluded the morning with a sharp speech about her experience as a law student from a migrant background.
Despite naysayers, she was determined to not let her gender get in the way of her dreams, and has now gained experience working in a broad range of areas in her local community, including youth and family violence.
MC for the day, Sandra George of South East Business Network, said it was “an emotional day”.
“I really think Annabelle demonstrated that contrast between how we think we’re hard done by here, and then you see how they live and the joy and happiness they’ve got in Uganda.
“What she’s doing is absolutely amazing.
“For me, the message was: you can make a difference.”
