ello, my name is Anne Babb, and here is a little bit about myself:

     I am 56 years old, born in then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) at the beginning of World War II.

     I am happily married, with two grown up kids -- Tania, a sculptress, and Brennan, glued to the "Web."

     We have had a chequered life - starting our married life in then Northern Rhodesia in 1963. It officially became independent and changed its name to "Zambia," while my husband was competing for the country in the 110 meter hurdles at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Zambia was where I first heard about "Scientology." A friend at work lent me the book Have You Lived Before This Life? and when I had finished reading it, some of the incidents of past life recall, particularly one in China, was more real to me than my present life. That's when I knew it was true.

     A year later we left for Rhodesia (as it was then). From there we went to South Africa, and while my husband did an Advertising course with his firm in Stellenbosch, I went into the Scientology Church in Cape Town and started my first Scientology training course. It was there while listening to a tape by L Ron Hubbard that it hit me for the first time what Scientology actually was, its scope and purpose. I recognized what it was all about and I was so excited that I didn't sleep for three nights.

     We went back to Rhodesia where my husband took up the post of advertising manager for his company, and I had two daughters in quick succession, Tania in 1967 and Jackie in 1968. Then Wally was transferred to Mocambique.

There followed six very happy years in Portuguese East Africa or "Mocambique" in the city which was then called "Lourenco Marques' (it is now 'Maputo'). We ate prawns in the pavement cafes, and water skied on the lagoon at idyllic San Martino. I also used to periodically go across the border to Johannesburg in South Africa to continue my Scientology training and I just kept growing as a person. I dared to have three art exhibitions of my pen and ink sketches, with new-found confidence; and my two daughters grew to 5 and 6 years old in that vibrant cosmopolitan society.

Then, the political scene became dangerous when the Portuguese in Lisbon handed the country over to the black nationalist guerilla force "Frelimo. " The Portuguese police force 'PIDE' lost all its power, anarchy reigned and we, in convoy with two other families, fled for our lives across the border to South Africa. How many people were thrown into a mass grave after the political violence there is still unknown. The scene quietened down, we returned for a short period and then left permanently to return to beleaguered war-torn Rhodesia.

     At the doorway of every shop, security personnel searched one's bag for weapons or bombs. The police force made regular checks on people in the streets. Children of farmers learnt to fire weapons to help defend farmsteads. No one ventured into the country except in convoy with armed protection. Many whites and blacks died. And in 1975, I had my son, Brennan. After four short years in Bulawayo and Salisbury (now Harare) we left again for South Africa, spent six months in Umhlanga Rocks, Durban, and finally settled in Cape Town in 1980, where we have lived ever since.

     Cape Town is where my children have grown up, and it is where I joined the staff of the Church of Scientology and worked many years for them. In 1985, my beautiful 17-year-old daughter, Jackie, was killed in a car crash. Never had I been so glad of my knowledge about life and death, and I know it helped me get over it fast and put much needed stability into the family environment. My interests over the years have been in reading. (I have been a voracious reader and have a great science fiction collection started when I was fourteen), Science Fiction fascinates me because it often reveals the writer's philosophy and prediction about the future. But I read almost anything if it is well-written. Am also presently struggling in writing my first book. I love Art (my favourites are the French Impressionists) - having a daughter and a mother who are artists, it is in our blood.

     When I first came into Scientology, I was primarily concerned with handling my own problems. Now, my purposes and energies have expanded to encompass a tremendous interest and commitment to doing what I can to preserve and better the civilization, and to fighting any efforts by vested interests to restrict freedom of the individual. That's me!