S1: From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
S1: your host, Sam Colley.
S2: Hello everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
S2: for the next half hour we talk matters of blindness
S2: and low vision.
S3: If you had to pay all the announcers and the
S3: time that's put in, then I don't think you'd be
S3: able to do that. Very important service. And I know
S3: it's an important service from speaking to people who listen
S3: to Vision Australia radio and enjoy it and get information
S3: out of it. If that wasn't there, that would be
S3: a serious gap in their lives.
S2: Welcome to the program! This week we celebrate National Volunteer
S2: Week by chatting to a volunteer from Vision Australia Radio
S2: in Bendigo. His name is Barry and you'll hear from
S2: him later on in the program today, so make sure
S2: to stick around for that one. But before you hear
S2: from Barry, I caught up with four. That's right, four
S2: of the people who are involved in the upcoming Vision
S2: Australia Open Day in Brisbane on the 8th of June,
S2: and that interview is coming up right now. I hope
S2: you'll enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision. I'm here
S2: today with an absolute star studded cast here to talk
S2: about the upcoming Vision Australia Open Day we have today
S2: Courtney McKee, Mel Bly, Donna Dyson and Amish Shomali and
S2: it's my absolute pleasure to welcome you all to Talking
S2: Vision today. Thank you very much for your time. Courtney.
S2: We'll start with you. Could you give us a bit
S2: of an overview about the open day?
S4: Yeah, absolutely. On Saturday the 8th of June 2024, we're
S4: hosting a day from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. where
S4: we're inviting children, young people, their friends, families, their school
S4: teams and the general community to come along and learn
S4: a little bit about what we do, particularly with our
S4: children and young people here at Vision Australia in relation
S4: to our life ready approach. And this is where we're
S4: supporting children and young people to do what they need
S4: to do now, but also to prepare for their future,
S4: whatever they would like that to be, and making sure
S4: that they have a skill set that includes nine essential
S4: life skill areas that children and young people who are
S4: blind or have low vision need, in addition to the
S4: core skills that every child needs to be successful.
S2: And Courtney, could you tell us a little bit more
S2: about your involvement in the day overall?
S4: Yeah, so I'm coordinating the day, which means I have
S4: the wonderful privilege of working with all of the talented
S4: folks that we're about to talk to today, plus all
S4: of the wonderful pediatric therapists that I'm involved with in
S4: my team and a range of other people who are
S4: coming along, especially to support the day. Among the kinds
S4: of things that I'm involved in is supporting the teams
S4: to set up our different stations, and we have stations
S4: ranging from workshops on cooking, coding, craft, we have storytimes,
S4: we have some physical workshops which include rugby skills and
S4: self defense. I'm also doing a lot of liaising with
S4: our stallholders. So our community partners who will be in
S4: on the day. For example, we have Carers Queensland coming
S4: along to provide NDIS information. We have Goalball Queensland coming
S4: along to provide information about that sport, and we have
S4: the Queensland Academy of Sport and Uq's Para start coming
S4: along to talk about sporting opportunities in our community, for
S4: people that just want to get involved and all the
S4: way through to elite sports.
S2: That sounds absolutely action packed. There a lot of things
S2: for people to look forward to, but what I'm looking
S2: forward to right now is just going around the room
S2: and having a chat to all of you and giving
S2: you a chance to sort of introduce yourselves and tell
S2: us a little bit about your involvement in the day. Mel,
S2: I think I'll start with you.
S5: Hi. Yeah. So I'm a professional psychologist in the area
S5: of health. I'm doing my placement here at Vision Australia
S5: from the University of Queensland. My involvement is to support
S5: the family engagement within the open day, as well as
S5: onto the life ready platform. The Life Ready Hub is
S5: made up of engagement with families, as well as their
S5: service providers, to teach the independent skills to children. It's
S5: part of the expanded core curriculum. Um, and as Courtney mentioned,
S5: you know, there's nine areas which we've expanded into this
S5: wonderful platform. It's online, but it's interactive as well. For example,
S5: a child can listen to a podcast and they can
S5: interact with it with dancing moves, with talking. You know,
S5: the areas, um, of independence include things like how do
S5: you pack your bag for camp, that sort of thing.
S5: So we're talking about giving these skills to children from
S5: a very young age. And then as they move up
S5: through its intergenerational change that we're making, we have children
S5: that are ready to engage in employment. And yeah.
S2: Amish, I'll go to you. Could you give us a
S2: bit of an intro? Tell us a bit about your
S2: involvement in the day?
S6: Yes. So, hi. So as you all know, my name
S6: is Amish. And so my role in the Open Day
S6: for Vision Australia will be getting kids involved in text
S6: based games on computer and getting them familiar with, um,
S6: programs such as Zoomtext. And so my role will be
S6: just to get them familiar with the software and sort
S6: of help them out and get them engaged in some
S6: of these educational games that they can play for all ages.
S6: A lot of.
S2: Things there, and a lot of fun games for people
S2: to try out. So look forward to hearing about that.
S2: But for now, Donna, I'll come to you. Could you
S2: give us a bit of an intro and tell us
S2: about your involvement in the Open Day?
S7: Absolutely. So hello, my name is Donna Dyson and I
S7: am one of the national ambassadors for Vision Australia, which is.
S7: A role that I take very seriously and advocate and
S7: try and role model wherever I can best practice. And
S7: the enablement of folk with blind or low vision experiences.
S7: So that is my connection through to Vision Australia, who
S7: have been incredibly supportive for me from the very beginning
S7: of my sight loss journey. My world is all about children.
S7: I have served children and worked with children, which is
S7: my heart space and I believe just this incredible calling
S7: upon my life to do so, to do that, and
S7: it's a gift to be able to continue to do that,
S7: post my sight loss, and to be able to do
S7: it in such a significant way that I know that
S7: it reaches children sighted and not sighted all around the world.
S7: And that's a far greater reach than what I could
S7: probably be able to do as a lecturer at a
S7: university where we're teaching teachers how to teach. And then
S7: those teachers go out to the schools, and that's a
S7: pretty broad reach. But maybe my sight loss has been
S7: a blessing to be able to reach absolutely millions of
S7: children around the world. And I will never see them.
S7: I will never know them. I will never meet them.
S7: But I know they're there because of our statistics, and
S7: I have to wake up with a purpose and know
S7: that this is an incredible blessing and a privilege to
S7: be able to serve children in this way. Now, very
S7: different to the way that I previously did it. And
S7: I grieve my profession greatly, but this is a different
S7: way of serving. And so I'm really honored to be
S7: able to share some of that music at this wonderful
S7: gathering on June the 8th in my hometown of Brisbane,
S7: which is lovely with this wonderful team. And Courtney's guidance
S7: and leadership within the children's services is phenomenal. So I'm
S7: really excited to be able to work with this team
S7: and showcase some of the music for the little people.
S7: It'll be wonderful and their families, but it is something
S7: that that's a children's label is Spotty Kites. It's something
S7: that is very much tailored for families, carers, supporters, etc.
S7: it's not just for children, it's a very educated, it's
S7: a very holistic kind of approach. So this will be
S7: wonderful to be able to share and join in the day.
S2: Donna, thank you so much for sharing your story and
S2: the amazing things that you have been involved with and
S2: continue to be involved with going into the future, but
S2: for the time being, I think I'll go back to
S2: Courtney to wrap up. Courtney, if you could just give
S2: us the basic details of the open day and how
S2: can people find out a little bit more about it
S2: if they need to register all those sort of things?
S4: Yeah, absolutely. And just in summing up to the involvement
S4: of Mel and Mission Donna. So Mel, as she mentioned,
S4: will be on our sign up station enabling parents families
S4: to sign up for our Life ready hub alongside Trish
S4: and Mesh will be on our World Domination station, supporting
S4: kids to get involved in accessible gaming and other people
S4: who might be interested there too. And Donna will be
S4: both up on stage with spotty kites and also in
S4: our story station doing a reading for us and a mission.
S4: Donna will be, as I will be wandering about the
S4: site wearing a badge that says mentor. Ask me about
S4: my career. And that's an invitation to parents, families, educators,
S4: members of the public to learn a lot more about
S4: what is possible for people who are blind or have
S4: low vision, and certainly little people and young adults too,
S4: who might be interested in considering lots of different career
S4: options for themselves. So the day, just as a reminder,
S4: is on Saturday, the 8th of June 2024 at our
S4: Coop Guru site in Brisbane. So that's 373 Old Cleveland Road,
S4: Cooper to. Just to note that our parking area will
S4: actually be occupied with things like our stage for our
S4: live music, our outdoor seating area, our coffee and snack van,
S4: our sausage sizzle and a number of community partner stalls
S4: so they won't be any parking on site. So anybody
S4: who'd like to attend on the day can come via
S4: the 204 bus, which arrives right at our front door
S4: or just across the road. They can also get dropped
S4: off by taxis and rideshare at the rear entrance to
S4: our site, which is the very end of Talbot Street
S4: in Cubaroo. So if you ask your driver to bring
S4: you to the very end of Talbot Street in Cooper,
S4: that's our rear entrance and we'll have some guides there
S4: to guide you onto the site. And of course, there's
S4: lots of parking in the local area like Talbot Street,
S4: Leicester Street and also Cooper Square has some really great
S4: parking available. And if you'd like to register for the day,
S4: you can go on to Vision Australia's website at Vision Australia.
S4: Org and we have an event there. If you go
S4: to our events section and look for. V.A. open day
S4: in Peru. That's where you'll be able to find out
S4: more about the day itself and to register. Or you
S4: could simply email children and young people QLD at Vision Australia. Org.
S4: And I'll say that one more time it's children and
S4: young people QLD or one word at Vision Australia or
S4: one word.org.
S2: I've been speaking today with Courtney McKay, Mel Bligh, Alicia
S2: Morley and Donna Dawson all involved in the upcoming Vision
S2: Australia Open Day taking place in Brisbane at the corporate
S2: office on the 8th of June. I'm Sam Cully and
S2: you're listening to Talking Vision on Vision Australia Radio. Associated
S2: stations of Reading Radio and the Community Radio Network. I
S2: hope you enjoyed that conversation there with Courtney Ermisch, Donna
S2: and Mel. We only just scratched the surface of Donna's
S2: story on Talking Vision today, so if you'd love to
S2: hear the full interview, it will be available on the
S2: Vision Australia Podcast feed as an interview highlight, so make
S2: sure to look out for that one. Or if you'd
S2: love to listen to the whole program. Talking vision is
S2: available on the Vision Australia Radio website, VA radio.org. Or
S2: of course you can find the program on the podcast
S2: app of your choice or through the Vision Australia library.
S2: And now coming up next on Talking Vision. I speak
S2: with Barry from Vision Australia Radio in Bendigo. National Volunteer
S2: Week runs from the 20th to the 26th of May.
S2: And to mark the occasion today we're catching up with
S2: a volunteer from the Vision Australia radio service in Bendigo.
S2: His name is Barry Levinei and he's been involved with
S2: Vision Australia in numerous capacities for the past 18 years.
S2: And it's my pleasure to welcome Barry right now. Barry,
S2: welcome to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for your time.
S3: Pleasure to be here, Sam. Nice to speak to you.
S2: Now, firstly, Barry, tell us a little bit about yourself.
S3: Well, I'm a retired person now. I've been a volunteer
S3: at Vision Australia for getting on for 18 years. I'm
S3: in Bendigo now, but I started off in Kooyong. I
S3: have a variety of volunteering connections with Vision Australia. Your
S3: listeners may know my voice from the Bendigo Advertiser Sunraysia
S3: Daily program. I do that once a week on Wednesday afternoons.
S3: I do the Uncertainty Principle science program, alternate weeks. I'm
S3: a contributor to Cover to Cover, which Tim McQueen puts together,
S3: so I read stories for that. I also fill in
S3: on at various stages for things that need to be
S3: filled in for, if there's a shortage on somebody for
S3: online review. Midday to 1:00. As well as that I
S3: do reading or record books for the Vision Australia library.
S3: The last one I did was John Sylvester's book, The
S3: Naked City, and I read short stories for a zoom group.
S3: I read novels live at a day centre group in
S3: Bendigo once a week, and I sometimes drive the minibus
S3: for people to get to and from day centre groups
S3: here in Bendigo. That's about all that I do.
S2: Well, you do it all by the sounds. So. Yeah. No, it's, um,
S2: you keep yourself very busy. So all those years ago,
S2: 18 years ago, what was it that got you into volunteering?
S3: I'd always been interested in radio, Sam. I sometimes think
S3: I should have tried to make a career of it
S3: instead of doing what I did, which paid the bills.
S3: But I sometimes think I would have been better suited
S3: to a radio career. Anyway, I decided that I'd get
S3: into that. So I rang vision and I spoke to Anastasia,
S3: who's still here, volunteer coordinator, and she said there were
S3: no on air openings at that stage, but there were
S3: vacancies for technical operators, the people behind the scenes who
S3: play the ads and pushed the buttons and make sure
S3: you can hear everybody talking and those sorts of things.
S3: So for a few weeks, I came in and I
S3: was trained by a very nice man named Henry, and
S3: then I was put with a program on Thursday nights,
S3: and the team read letters to the editor and the
S3: Green Guide, and then some opinion pieces later in the evening.
S3: So I arrived at about 6:00 at night, and we
S3: knocked off a ten and other programs took over. After
S3: a while, I auditioned and became a reader and did
S3: all kinds of interesting programs. That's one of the benefits
S3: of volunteering. I don't think I've ever done a program
S3: where I didn't enjoy or learn something, and so I
S3: did the financial supplements from newspapers, I read those, I
S3: read time magazine for a while, and I remember doing
S3: a couple of the choice, the consumer magazine programs and
S3: something that I probably wouldn't have read otherwise. And I
S3: read all about the ingredients in chocolate cake. I remember,
S3: I'm not sure if you were skilled in the kitchen, Sam,
S3: but I occasionally get in there and have a go
S3: at things. Yeah, when you make a chocolate cake, you
S3: have things like eggs and cocoa and flour and stuff
S3: like that. But all the in the commercial ones there's
S3: stabilizer number 11777345992 and preservatives and all kinds of other things.
S3: So it was interesting to learn that. And then just
S3: before 2010 started, Robin, who was the station manager at
S3: that stage, said, has anyone got ideas for a program?
S3: And I had worked in the computer industry for many years,
S3: and I thought it was ten years since the Y2K bug.
S3: And so I organized to interview a friend of mine
S3: who had been very involved in the software at that stage.
S3: And so we did a program about the Y2K bug.
S3: And Robin said, well, we'd like you to do some
S3: more programs. And I thought I could do maybe half
S3: an hour a month. And she said, oh, we'd like
S3: an hour a week. So I wondered what I could do.
S3: And a friend of mine said, well, we're both interested
S3: in science, why don't we put that on? And so
S3: the uncertainty principle was born, and that's been going for
S3: about 14 years now, a bit over 14 years perhaps.
S3: All right. So that's how I got into things.
S2: Yeah. Okay. So that uncertainty principle that's a baby of
S2: yours and something it is no doubt close to your heart.
S2: So what's it been like being involved with this program.
S2: You've got such an enthusiasm for and so much professional
S2: knowledge that you can bring to that program. Being involved
S2: with that for, as you say, 14 years now, that
S2: must be an absolute highlight of your life.
S3: Yes, yes it is. And it also gave me an
S3: opportunity to contact people I wouldn't have otherwise rung. I
S3: haven't done any interviews since Covid or since coming to Bendigo.
S3: I'm still sorting out some technical stuff on that, but
S3: I got an opportunity to ring up all kinds of
S3: different scientists and to interview them live and ask them
S3: the questions I wanted to ask them. And so that
S3: was terrific. I've spoken to a nanotechnologist who works with tiny, tiny,
S3: tiny things, nanotechnology, things that are much smaller than a
S3: millimeter is the area that they're in. I've spoken to astronomers.
S3: I've spoken to medical researchers of various kinds. I did
S3: a series on the brain, a series of interviews on
S3: the brain and the mind with a professor from Adelaide.
S3: And I've really enjoyed that side of it. And I
S3: rarely read an article that I don't get something out
S3: of at the moment I'm reading, or I read from
S3: the Scientific American, the New Scientist, Cosmos, which is an
S3: Australian science magazine, and anything else that comes to hand,
S3: anything out of the press or things like that. I
S3: remember one day I read a letter by a scientist
S3: named Richard Feynman, and he was one of the scientists
S3: who witnessed the first atomic bomb test. And this was
S3: a letter to his family. And and that was absolutely fascinating.
S3: I remember reading that in the studio. And whilst you're
S3: reading in the studio, the other presenters are often preparing
S3: the next article or whatever. But when I looked up
S3: after reading that, I had their attention too. So that
S3: was a fascinating article to have read.
S2: Following on from that, Barry, do you have another absolute
S2: favorite memory of yours from your 18 years of volunteering
S2: at Vision Australia that will stick with you for the
S2: rest of your life? I know it's almost impossible to
S2: pick just one.
S3: I think the things I remember as when listeners have
S3: contacted me and said that they've really enjoyed something that
S3: we've read. I read one environmental article once and it
S3: was a big one three quarters of an hour. So
S3: it was quite a long part of the program, and
S3: I try and do a diversity, but I thought that
S3: was so important. I'd read that one out, and a
S3: listener contacted me and said that it was something that
S3: they really got something out of, so that was valuable.
S3: Not long after we started, I got a letter from
S3: or we got a letter from a listener who had
S3: said they'd been with us since the beginning and really
S3: enjoyed the program and got things out of it. So
S3: knowing that what I do and enjoy is a value
S3: and interest to other people is probably the highlight. And
S3: that's the thing with volunteering and giving you, you almost
S3: always get more out than you put in. I've volunteered
S3: and sometimes you think, oh, I'd really rather not be
S3: doing this today. I'd rather read my book or do
S3: something else. But I always enjoy doing the volunteering and
S3: I really get a lot of satisfaction and pleasure. Of
S3: what I do.
S2: And of course, these sort of stations and services are
S2: not possible without the dedicated work of volunteers such as yourself. Barry.
S2: And as we celebrate National Volunteer Week, it is worth
S2: highlighting the importance of volunteers to a service like Vision
S2: Australia Radio. So how important is it for you and
S2: your colleagues, Barry, to have these hard working, dedicated volunteers
S2: working every week to provide such a vital service to
S2: the print disabled community? Well, I.
S3: Don't think we could afford to do. We, being Vision Australia,
S3: could afford to do this commercially. If you had to
S3: pay all the announcers and the time that's put in,
S3: then I don't think you'd be able to do that.
S3: Very important service. And I know it's an important service
S3: from speaking to people who listen to Vision Australia radio
S3: and enjoy it and get information out of it. If
S3: that wasn't there, that would be a serious gap in
S3: their lives. I've spoken to vision impaired people and clients
S3: of Vision Australia, who obviously used to enjoy reading a
S3: great deal, and now that their eyesight has faded or
S3: they've contracted some complaint, that means they can't see so
S3: well anymore. Vision Australia radio fills a hole for them
S3: that would be very difficult to fill otherwise, and reading
S3: the local paper, which I do on Wednesdays, we read
S3: the Bendigo Advertiser and the Sunraysia Daily, which is the
S3: local paper in Mildura. People often tell me that the
S3: death notices that we read out each week. It's very
S3: important for them. Some of our clients are older people
S3: and have friends or others who may pass away, and
S3: it's important for them to be up to date and
S3: to know that it's not the sort of thing that
S3: would be available any other way. So death notices and
S3: other local news items like road closures and things like
S3: that are of great interest to people in our listening area,
S3: and they wouldn't be able to get that information any
S3: other way.
S2: Certainly. Well, thank you very much for your time today, Barry.
S2: I've been speaking today with Barry Levinei, the one of
S2: the hard working volunteers at the Vision Australia radio service
S2: in Bendigo. It is with deep sadness that we announce
S2: Dorothy Hamilton OAM has passed away at the age of 97.
S2: Many of you will know Dorothy through her excellent reputation
S2: nationally as a highly experienced music teacher and transcriber who
S2: kept high standards, as well as sparring those standards in
S2: her students and colleagues in the 50s. Dorothy taught at
S2: Korowa Anglican Girls School, where she filled a maternity position,
S2: teaching singing, choir, piano and recorder. At the end of
S2: her term, the headmistress liked her so much that she
S2: is reported to have said the only replacement she would
S2: hire for the position was another blind person, and true
S2: to her word, Allan, Dorothy's brother who was also blind,
S2: was the successful incumbent and taught for a further nine years.
S2: Her work at Vision Australia began in transcription as a
S2: proofreader on the 8th of August 1977. She began with
S2: the frame and stylus and then learned to work with
S2: the Perkins Brailler. Then, in the early 90s, Dorothy introduced
S2: the use of refreshable braille to Braille music. Transcription. Dorothy
S2: was a pioneer using this technology, and Australia was the
S2: first to adopt such a process whereby blind people transcribe
S2: their own music rather than perforating a sighted employee's work.
S2: Dorothy's work. Training and transcribing with volunteer readers over the
S2: 45 years she transcribed with Vision Australia is really very special,
S2: and the friendships they formed during the shared task of
S2: completing work for students and adults all over Australia were lifelong.
S2: In 1986, the National Braille Music Camp was established to
S2: immerse braille reading upper primary and secondary school aged students
S2: in Braille music, along with other blind colleagues. Dorothy would
S2: transcribe the majority of the camp music each year. She
S2: also encouraged and greatly assisted one of her readers, John
S2: Shute OAM, who took it upon himself to learn the
S2: Braille music code and transcribe music for the camp for
S2: many years. Dorothy taught for over 25 years at the
S2: National Braille Music Camp, and many of the students who
S2: resided interstate would have regular phone contact with her during
S2: the year in order to gain assistance with completing their
S2: Ameb theory examinations. Students would send her their work, and
S2: she would correct it over the phone when a Braille
S2: music teacher was not available to them in their area.
S2: Dorothy made a huge contribution to Braille music in Australia.
S2: Her encouragement of blind students to take on music as
S2: a career is something many of us will remember, but
S2: also her emphasis on the importance of maintaining high standards
S2: of Braille music transcription and application. In theory and performance.
S2: Dorothy was a true inspiration to the Braille music community
S2: of Australia and will be deeply missed. And that's all
S2: the time we have for today. You've been listening to
S2: Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision Australia radio production.
S2: Thanks to all involved with putting the show together every week.
S2: And remember, we love hearing from you. So please get
S2: in touch any time on our email at Talking Vision.
S2: At Vision australia.org. That's talking vision all one word at
S2: Vision australia.org. But until next week it's Sam Colly saying
S2: bye for now.
S1: You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us any time
S1: during business hours on 1300 847 406. That's one (300) 847-4106 or by
S1: visiting Vision australia.org. That's Vision australia.org.