My Zimbabwean Odyssey

Although I now live in the UK, I was born in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, in 1952. At the age of eight I was taken into care and spent the next nine years in what was then The Rhodesia Children's Home. A rebel at heart, the Home never gave up on me, turning my world around with their kindness and support. Recognising my flair for art I was encouraged to pursue my talent, taking weekly lessons at the Salisbury School of Art. Seeing potential, too, in my typewriting skills, when I left school at the age of 17 the Home paid for me to attend the Salisbury Polytechnic where I gained a diploma in secretarial skills, ensuring I was well equipped for my journey into what I then considered 'the big, scary outside world'.