My name is Denise Mwenedata and I was born in Rwanda in 1985. I am the fourth child of eight so our home was always full of people. I loved playing with my siblings. My parents were both teachers, and my dad became a headmaster when I was young. They encouraged my siblings and I to study hard. I always thought that I would be doctor when I grew up, but in April 1994 …
I am the middle child of a large immigrant family and from the age of eight my life was forever impacted by my father’s battle with cancer. He suffered terribly, eventually dying 11 years later from this wretched disease. My teenage years were defined by poverty, neglect, abandonment and rejection. In my late teens I stepped into the darkness of drug addiction. For the next 24 years I used heroin and methadone everyday all whilst …
Both my parents had very strict Catholic backgrounds so as a child I knew of Jesus. I was a reluctant attendee of a Presbyterian boarding school during high school but as a teenager I wanted nothing to do with God or religion. I thought religion at best, was a fantasy and at its worst was a tool of control and manipulation. I wasn’t interested. Despite my disdain for Christianity, spirituality intrigued me and I became …
I started high diving when I was just eight years old. I fell in love with this amazing sport. A dream was birthed in my heart to represent Australia at the Olympics. I trained seven days a week and twice a day on weekends. I was sold out to the dream. In 1977 I had the amazing privilege of representing Australia at the World Diving Championships in Houston, Texas. I was 11 years old and …
I am the eldest of 5 children and grew up in a volatile home environment. Mum and Dad did not get along at all. They got married because mum fell pregnant with me and as a result I felt like I was the reason for their unhappiness. Life was chaotic and unstable. From the age of six to eight years a much older boy sexually abused me. This only added to my feelings of shame …
