COVER STORY
VAL ZAHARIEVSKI An Ode to Inspiring Women Winning the Hearts of a Community Images: Dobre Motley Media and Hari at Enfox
Written by JASMINA SIDEROVSKI
eYs
Magazine has devoted this edition celebrating and honouring women for International Women’s Day. As the Chief Editor of a noble humanitarian publication, and a women’s empowerment lobbyist I am asked all the time ‘what defines an inspiring woman?’ For me, an inspiring woman is someone with the desire or urge to do something worthwhile. A woman, who lives her life free from definitions, constraints, and attachment to generally accepted ideals and stereotypes of beauty and success. My perception of an inspiring woman is that you must make a conscious effort every day, with each interaction, to approach people, topics, and situations with altruism in your heart and handle negative situations, people, and words with grace. Many people confuse that being an inspiring woman equates to being overly
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successful in a traditional sense. The truth of the matter is that you don’t need a highpaying job or an admirable career, be a best-selling author, or an expert and, you certainly don’t need to be perfect. In fact, the most inspiring women are completely, utterly, and beautifully imperfect. Val Zaharievski, the Principal of VACCI Estate Agents in Sydney, Australia was our unanimous winning candidate as an inspirational woman for the front cover of this edition of eYs Magazine. Purely based on her determination, passion, and struggle to raise much needed funds for Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a cause that is very close to her heart during what is the most difficult time of philanthropy as we endure the unprecedented recent events – when the world literally STOPPED! “Multiple Sclerosis is a disease in which the immune system eats away at the protective covering of nerves. In
MS, resulting nerve damage disrupts communication between the brain and the body. Multiple sclerosis causes many different symptoms, including vision loss, pain, fatigue, and impaired coordination. The symptoms, severity and duration can vary from person to person. Some people may be symptom free for most of their lives, while others can have severe, chronic symptoms that never go away. Physiotherapy and medication that suppress the immune system can help with symptoms, and slow disease progression.” “Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition of the central nervous system, interfering with nerve impulses within the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. It is characterised by sclerosis a Greek word meaning scars. These scars occur within the central nervous system and depending on where they develop, manifest into various symptoms. MS affects over 25,600
