Sallianne Deckert started writing articles for newspapers from the family farm in Victoria when she was 12 years old. Her television career began straight out of school and has taken her around the world. A member of the original Talk to the Animals series in 1997, Sallianne's other credits include reporter/producer roles with Postcards (Victoria), Today, Mornings with Kerri-Anne, A Current Affair, Getaway and Our House, all on the Nine Network.

After 11 years in the Australian adoption process, Sallianne and her husband Steve are proud parents to two Ethiopian born daughters - Kuleni (adopted 2005) and Tsegamareyam (adopted 2011). A passion for Ethiopia’s children and future prompted the family to recently move to Addis Ababa and commit to volunteering at The School of St Yared for two years. The school takes the most severely disadvantaged students with a motivation to learn and provides an excellent education, meals, health support and nurturing environment for free.

The family is enjoying their time in Ethiopia exploring Kuleni and Tsegamareyam’s birth culture as they use their skills to impact Ethiopian lives and futures through education. If you’d like to read more, visit The School of St Yared, Ethiopia on Facebook or contact sponsorship@schoolofstyared.com.