Sharon Künnemann: “I have a dream for SA in 2017…”

Biznews community member Sharon Künnemann is a passionate individual who has worked her way through the ranks from junior secretary to PA over the last 30 years. Her mission is to never stop learning and to give back/counsel/mentor young people seeking to grow in life. This is Sharon’s dream for South Africa in 2017. – Stuart Lowman

By Sharon Künnemann*

Sharon Künnemann

I love Zig Ziglar’s quote – “You don’t build a business, you build people and people build the business.

I wish to tweak this quote for South Africa – “You don’t uplift a country, you uplift its people and our people uplift the country.” This is my dream, because without our people, we do not have a country.

The first factor of importance is education and training. My dream is that our teachers/lecturers/educators become passionate about their profession. Break the mould of it “being only a job”. It is not “just a job!” You are the backbone of the young people in this country. You can make the difference – be the difference in a child’s life. You can leave a legacy for years to come when your “children” advance in this country and/or even into the world and attribute it to you!

The second factor of importance is safety and security. My dream is for our police force and the SANDF to gain the nation’s respect. This profession is vitally important, as it protects the country’s people from anarchists and upholds the law of the land. It is an unforgiving profession. However, if we take hands and work together for the better of our country, we can all make a difference. Why are police men and women respected in other countries? Why is it a profession that young men and women strive to be a part of in other countries? If we can answer these questions and leverage the skills & knowledge of these countries – our police and the SANDF can become a respected force whom the nation can be proud of and feel protected by!

The third factor of importance is health and empathy. My dream is for our medical fraternity to be our beacon of hope when it comes to our nation’s health issues. South Africa, from what I understand in talking to friends in the profession, is fast running out of skilled professionals – from doctors to nurses to caregivers. This profession is a calling and is not for the faint-hearted. When a nation is ill, these are the folks we look to for assistance, guidance, empathy and caring. However, with a profession so thinly spread, how can the nation expect this? It is important that we as a nation ignite the courage in our young people to study their way into this profession, so that the weak and the ill can feel safe in the knowledge that they will be taken care of with empathy and understanding.

The above is only a fraction of what is going on in my heart. I have so much passion for South Africa and our amazing nation and strongly believe it takes only one person to pay it forward and make a difference. I have been and continue to try and make, albeit small, a difference in my immediate community at work and with friends. It is amazingly humbling to receive a Maya Angelou quote from a colleague for a little something that I did which reads:

People will forget what you said. They will forget what you did. However, they will never forget how you made them feel.”

This is my dream for South Africa – to make the nation feel and believe that they are part of the country which our dearly departed Madiba envisaged when he said:

A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dream of.

  • Sharon Künnemann is PA to the COO at Meadow Feeds Paarl and has been with the company since 2007. Her mission is to never stop learning and to give back/counsel/mentor young people seeking to grow in life.
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