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: I would just get used to using a system and
S3: be able to function a little bit faster. And then
S3: I'd get another vision decline, and it was like starting
S3: all over again. So it was really frustrating. And I
S3: had to say to myself, look after your wellbeing, take
S3: time out, do a little bit at a time, have
S3: a break and then come back to it. And, you know,
S3: eventually I got there.
S2: Welcome to the program. This week we hear from a
S2: couple of women achieving amazing things in the blind and
S2: low vision community, starting off with Joanne Cabot, a community
S2: leader from the Fraser Coast region in south east Queensland
S2: who's also a mental health and wellbeing advocate for people
S2: in the blind and low vision community, through her Instagram
S2: livewell with vision loss. And then after you hear from Joanne,
S2: it's my great pleasure to be joined by 100 Kia
S2: Ambassador and Paralympian Jess Gallagher, who chats to me all
S2: about the upcoming 100 K Your Way challenge in April
S2: and how to get involved. I hope you enjoy this
S2: week's episode of Talking Vision. Kicking off the show this week.
S2: Our first guest has really been super busy over the
S2: past year and a bit she's organised a screening of
S2: The Blind see Matt Formston movie alongside director Daniel Fenech.
S2: She's set up a blindness and low vision hardship fund
S2: for people in the Fraser Coast region in south east Queensland.
S2: She's hosted her own mini disability expo, all of this
S2: while experiencing vision loss due to macular degeneration. But she's
S2: not stopping there because 100 K is coming up. She's
S2: taking part in that and setting up a dinner in
S2: the dark in Hervey Bay. Her name is Joanne Kabat
S2: and she joins me now. Jo, welcome to Talking Vision.
S2: Thanks so much for your time.
S3: Thank you so much, Sam. I'm excited to be here
S3: and chatting with you today.
S2: And we're very excited to have you. Now, Joe, you've
S2: been quite busy in the local community up in the
S2: Fraser Coast. You know, you've created quite a few events and,
S2: you know, this has been a really good opportunity to
S2: create awareness, promote inclusivity and accessibility. So what sort of
S2: things have you been up to?
S3: Yes, yes, it has been a busy period, I must say.
S3: I've been doing multiple things at once, which is kind
S3: of what I tend to do. I never stop at
S3: just doing one thing. It's like, oh, what next? What
S3: else can I do? All of these add ons. So
S3: it began last year when The Blind See was released
S3: with Matt Formston obviously surfing the the biggest waves in
S3: the world, and it didn't come to the Fraser Coast.
S3: And I thought, oh, that's really disappointing because whilst I
S3: can't see a lot, I was, you know, just hoping
S3: to enjoy the experience of attending that movie. So I
S3: mentioned something on Instagram and immediately the director of the
S3: Blind See reached out to me and he said, This
S3: is Daniel.
S2: That's right. Thanks. I've had a chat to Daniel. He's great.
S2: A lot of fun to chat to. Daniel's the best. Yeah,
S2: he's so good.
S3: He's so good. And he basically said, Joe, I can
S3: make this happen if you can make it happen and
S3: game on. And so it began. So from there it
S3: was months of trying to find a venue. The cinemas
S3: here weren't overly helpful and I was working with I
S3: don't know if you spoke to JP, he's the movie distributor.
S2: No, I haven't spoken to JP. I did speak to Daniel.
S3: Right. Oh, Daniel. Daniel linked me to JP because he'd
S3: be the best person to help me with the distribution and,
S3: you know, finding a venue and everything. And JP was amazing.
S3: But both of us didn't get very far with, like,
S3: the local cinemas, the Fraser Coast, the council here, they
S3: were amazing from the beginning, but we were talking more
S3: about outdoor locations, which would be great for awareness but
S3: not for weather up here on the Fraser Coast in
S3: tropical Queensland.
S2: Yeah, that.
S3: Wasn't going to work. So I went around to a
S3: few locations and eventually I applied for a grant with
S3: the Hervey Bay RSL, and that grant was approved. And
S3: so that's how we came about to having the film
S3: screened there at the RSL. And they paid for the
S3: screening costs, they paid for the venue, and they also
S3: paid for some low vision and community awareness badges that
S3: I wanted to create and hand out to anybody who
S3: had low vision or blindness in our community, which was
S3: just incredible.
S2: Yeah. It is. That's fantastic. And you've been involved in
S2: a mini disability expo as well. You've sort of that's
S2: been in the pipeline recently.
S3: So I decided, okay, so we've got the movie coming
S3: to town. This is fantastic. But it's also another opportunity
S3: to add another.
S4: Layer, which.
S3: Was to hold a mini disability expo for anybody with
S3: any disabilities, families, friends and to create more awareness to
S3: any of the community attending Blind See. So what I
S3: did is I reached out to just around eight organizations
S3: in the community who not only just offered like support workers,
S3: but I wanted to actually show the types of things
S3: people could do. So we had team rehab there and
S3: they provide exercise, physio, which is something with my legal
S3: blindness I've really appreciated doing. I had a transportation organization there,
S3: Health Cabin Co. They were fantastic. Fraser Coast Support Coordination
S3: who offer incredible support in the community, trying to connect
S3: people to the NDIS and achieve their goals through the NDIS.
S3: So we had a bunch of different organisations attending this
S3: and for the ones that couldn't attend, like Vision Australia
S3: and Quantum and National Plan managers here who also work
S3: with NDIS, they all sent brochures, which was incredible. And
S3: I also had a stack of brochures that I contributed
S3: to because I reached out to the local community and
S3: they were incredible in offering donations to people with low
S3: vision and blindness, as well as goodie bags, which we
S3: collated together, which just had a few discounts and some
S3: recommendations and some more information for anyone attending. With low
S3: Vision and Blindness and Quantum and Vision, Australia had a
S3: bunch of brochures along with Paralympic Sports, goalball, Disability Sports Australia.
S3: So it was quite a mix of different things for
S3: the Disability Expo.
S2: And how have you gone over that past five months
S2: navigating numerous things, including, you know, doing all this while
S2: experiencing vision loss and the series of challenges that presents.
S2: How have you managed to adapt and navigate your way
S2: through that?
S3: Yeah. Good point. I have had two vision declines. I
S3: have myopic macular degeneration. So as a high myopic child,
S3: as I became older, unfortunately it changed into myopic macular degeneration,
S3: which is mainly degeneration of the central vision. So that's
S3: the key part I've lost in both of my eyes,
S3: which is very similar to Matt Formston, our world famous
S3: blind surfer. So we kind of see a little bit similarly,
S3: which was interesting to get two people the same together.
S3: It's been hard, I must say, because as I'm working
S3: through this, it was mostly alone with some assistance from
S3: my incredible support worker Renee from Health Cabin Co. And
S3: I think the hardest part is how slow I was.
S3: And I would just get used to using a system
S3: and be able to function a little bit faster, and
S3: then I'd get another vision decline and it was like
S3: starting all over again. So it was really frustrating. And
S3: I had to say to myself, look after your wellbeing,
S3: take time out, do a little bit at a time,
S3: have a break and then come back to it. And,
S3: you know, eventually I got there.
S2: Yeah it is. It does present so many different challenges,
S2: but there's also always ways to get on top of
S2: it and make things achievable. Bite off small parts and
S2: that can do attitude. That's just helped everything go from
S2: strength to strength. And you're absolutely right. It is hard.
S2: It is challenging. You know, you can't all be on
S2: top of everything. You can't be happy all the time
S2: and it's okay to be frustrated. It's okay to feel down.
S2: It's okay to think, oh no, I have to go
S2: through this again. But then you get over that hump
S2: and you keep going and you achieve all these amazing things.
S2: Like you've recently opened the Fraser Coast Low Vision and
S2: Blind Community Hardship Fund. That's quite interesting.
S3: Yes, yes, it's really exciting. And I think having had
S3: a degenerative eye disease. So I'm 55 now and I'm
S3: at the point where I am legally blind. I've wanted
S3: to give back and help other people who are experiencing
S3: severe vision loss. And I'm really aware, and I have
S3: been since Covid, to be quite honest, that a lot
S3: of people aren't on NDIS, they're struggling to get on,
S3: they've been waiting for a long time, or they're not
S3: getting the supports that they need through the aged care
S3: system either and living regionally combats that too. Um, we
S3: struggle with particularly when you can't drive getting around accessing
S3: our ophthalmologists. Vision Australia to our closest is Sunshine Coast
S3: and Brisbane. So through the Fraser Coast Low Vision and
S3: Blind Community Hardship Fund. I'm hoping that we can actually
S3: help people who are struggling, for example, if they're not
S3: able to afford a long cane or they can't get
S3: to the long cane training on the Sunshine Coast or
S3: in Brisbane. Hopefully we can assist through getting them there
S3: and navigating the life the way that they want it
S3: to be.
S2: And you've got a couple of really exciting events coming up,
S2: including 100 K your way, which is just sort of
S2: kicking off over here in Vision Australia or ramping up
S2: to do 100 K our way in April. So that's
S2: all very exciting. A lot of people joining up and
S2: enthusiasm is really building. So that's pretty cool.
S3: Yeah, I actually I did it for the first time
S3: last year. Sam and I absolutely loved it, and I
S3: seized it as an opportunity to create awareness in the community.
S3: I'd only been using my cane for a year approximately,
S3: and being a fairly sporty person, I thought, okay, let's
S3: mix this up. I'll get out to the local pool
S3: and I'll swim, and I'll do some of the tourist
S3: sites in the Fraser Coast and just be walking around
S3: with my cane, clocking up those 100 k's that way.
S3: And I also got on my bike, so it was
S3: a great opportunity to get outside, do some exercise, join
S3: a couple of friends in doing it, sometimes create some
S3: awareness as well as fundraise for Vision Australia. Because this
S3: initiative means a lot to me as far as the
S3: funds are going to help so many people access mobility. Services,
S3: which is such an incredibly important thing for us when we're.
S3: We have vision loss, and it's also about our balance,
S3: those mobility. Services help us learn to walk more safely
S3: and feel more confident when we're. Out in the community.
S2: And we'll get a feel of those details later on
S2: at the end. But I'm keen to just hear about
S2: your dinner in the dark in Hervey Bay. That's coming up.
S3: Oh yes. Absolutely. I am so excited to let everybody
S3: know that there's another fundraising initiative, and it came out
S3: of a joint sponsorship for a dinner with the Lions
S3: Club and the vineyard, which has recently opened here, which
S3: is a stunning, stunning location on the Esplanade where you
S3: can eat and drink, you know, wonderful food. Really have
S3: a special evening with some of your friends and family.
S3: So I approached the vineyard. I think it was last
S3: Friday because I knew that they were quite interested in
S3: actually doing something with me after they'd heard about the
S3: blind See event. And they are. So we're going to
S3: collaborate on a dinner in the dark event. We're looking
S3: at the end of April at the moment, the 24th
S3: of April, but we're yet to put that one in stone.
S3: So stay tuned for the date for this one. And
S3: basically it's going to be a blindfolded dinner and a
S3: major fundraising event once again for the Fraser Coast low
S3: vision and blind community.
S2: Oh, perfect. And if people would like to get in
S2: touch with you, Joe, what's the best way for them
S2: to do that?
S3: Yeah, yeah, unfortunately, I don't have the link to my
S3: 100 K page. That's okay. Put it up today because
S3: I have been promoting Andrew K your way and trying
S3: to encourage more people to get on board. And because
S3: I love Vision Australia. They've been incredibly supportive to me
S3: right from the outset, which is so important when you're
S3: on this vision loss journey. So I'll put that up
S3: today on my Instagram and Facebook handles, which are at
S3: livwell with Vision Loss. So that's live well with vision loss.
S3: So you'll see me doing all sorts of promotions. You'll
S3: even find me doing all of my 100 K exercises
S3: from last year. And it's basically an inspirational motivational page
S3: for anyone experiencing vision loss so that you know, you
S3: don't feel alone in that journey. So there's that one there.
S3: And I also have a try booking fund. And that's
S3: where the Fraser Coast Community Fund is, my latest fundraiser
S3: from the Blind See event. We fundraised over $1,000, which
S3: is an incredible start for.
S2: That fund certainly.
S3: So the try booking fundraiser is try booking. Try Booking.com
S3: and once again I'll put that up on my Instagram page.
S3: So it's really easy for everybody to find.
S2: That's all happening. That'd be. Yeah, that'd be fantastic. Looking
S2: forward to hearing how that goes.
S3: Yes, yes, I'll reach out just before the event and
S3: provide some more information if you like, as well as
S3: a wrap up afterwards, and by then too. So stay
S3: tuned for everybody who is on social media, because I'm
S3: in the middle of creating my YouTube page.
S2: Oh, okay.
S3: Which yeah, that's going to be an inspirational motivational page
S3: where I'm also doing balance activities and interviews and connecting
S3: with other people experiencing low vision and blindness, and also
S3: organizing my website right now so that one soon to
S3: go live. But I'll post those on my Instagram Live
S3: well with Vision Loss page once they're ready to go.
S2: Perfect. Well, I've been speaking today with Joanne Cabot, the
S2: founder of the Livewell with Vision Loss Instagram page and
S2: fundraising extraordinaire on the Fraser Coast. It's been an absolute
S2: pleasure to catch up with you today, Joe, and hear
S2: about what you've been up to and what's coming up
S2: in the future. So all the very best.
S3: Thank you so much, Sam. It's just been wonderful to
S3: talk to you and to share my story as well
S3: as my vision.
S2: I'm Sam Culley and you're listening to Talking Vision on
S2: a Vision Australia Radio, Associated Stations of Reading Radio and
S2: the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation
S2: there with Joe Cabot. If you missed any part of
S2: that chat with Joe or you'd love to hear it again.
S2: Talking vision is available on the Vision Australia Radio website.
S2: Simply head to VA radio.org. That's VA radio.org. Or you
S2: can find the program on the podcast app of your
S2: choice or through the Vision Australia library. With the 100
S2: Koa challenge kicking off in just under four weeks time,
S2: what better time than to chat with our next guest?
S2: She's done it all. She's been a summer and winter Paralympian,
S2: a Vision Australia ambassador and now ambassador for 100 K
S2: your way. It's none other than Jess Gallagher, who returns
S2: to Talking Vision to chat with me right now. Jess,
S2: welcome back to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for
S2: your time today.
S5: Thanks, Sam. It's always good to chat.
S2: Now, Jess, to start off with, we're here to chat
S2: about 100 K your way. Of course. Now, people may
S2: have heard of this over the years, but for people
S2: new to the idea out there, what is hundred K
S2: your way?
S5: Well, this April we're encouraging people to run, walk, swim,
S5: roll whatever form you feel like doing 100km your way,
S5: and it gives us the opportunity to raise some funds
S5: whilst having fun moving around at the same time for
S5: Vision Australia. And all funds raised will be going to
S5: helping people who are blind or have low vision live
S5: the life they choose. So I'm really excited to be
S5: on board as an ambassador this year and seeing how
S5: I can push out that 100 K in April.
S2: Oh, perfect. And Jess, how did you become an ambassador?
S2: How did that all sort of come about? Was there
S2: one sort of event or one day where you thought,
S2: you know what, I want to get behind this cause
S2: this is, you know, such an amazing organization that's been
S2: so important to me and both of us. You know,
S2: we've really benefited over the years. But how did that
S2: come about?
S5: Well, really, my relationship with Vision Australia started over 20
S5: years ago when I was diagnosed as legally blind. And
S5: the first person that my ophthalmologist doctor, Lisa Reddington, put
S5: me in touch with was Vision Australia. And they really
S5: enabled me to understand my low vision, what it meant,
S5: how I could at the time I was in year 12.
S5: So they sent a occupational therapist out to the school
S5: to help educate the teachers on the things I could
S5: and couldn't see. And it really opened my eyes, and
S5: no pun intended, to really what the world of low
S5: vision could be for me as a person, and to
S5: ensure that I was able to live the life that
S5: I dreamt about and whilst understanding it was now looking
S5: a little different. It didn't mean that I couldn't chase
S5: those dreams. They just took me down a different pathway,
S5: which is how I ended up becoming a Paralympian. As
S5: someone who was a really sporty kid and a talented
S5: netballer at the time, as a as a youngster. And really,
S5: it was 15 years ago this year that I became
S5: an ambassador for Vision Australia, and it came about after
S5: I won my first Paralympic medal at the 2010 Vancouver
S5: Winter Paralympics. I was still utilizing the services of Vision Australia,
S5: and the CEO at the time, I think was one
S5: the CEO at the time, I can't remember, it's been
S5: so long now. Yeah. Asked if I would would get
S5: on board and help support the organisation and it was
S5: a no brainer for me. Having been the recipient of
S5: so much love and support from the Vision Australia community,
S5: it was a very natural fit to be able to
S5: put my hand up and hopefully give back to others.
S5: So they've been asking me for a couple of years
S5: to get involved with the hundred K your way, but
S5: being a Paralympian and with a lot of travel, it
S5: has been tricky trying to find the time as I'm
S5: often overseas. But this year was the year I'm not
S5: overseas in March or April, so it meant I could
S5: really dedicate myself to helping the cause and promoting a
S5: really worthwhile activity.
S2: And we'd love to have you. And as you've mentioned there,
S2: you know, you've been a Paralympian. You've done it all really.
S2: On the skiing, rowing, cycling, what have you. Now tying
S2: into that, how are you going to be doing your
S2: hundred K this April?
S6: Oh, it's a big question, Sam.
S5: I've been thinking about it and I feel like it's
S5: somewhat cheating. If I included my training that I'm currently
S5: doing as a paracyclist, I feel like that would just
S5: sort of be taking the easy option if I included
S5: the full time training I already do as a professional athlete,
S5: so I'm leaning towards doing the 100 k walking. I
S5: have to be a little bit careful. Running is a
S5: little bit tricky at the moment given my training for cycling,
S5: so I think I might be hitting the pavement and
S5: trying to notch up those KS through walking.
S2: Let's go into the background of 100 K and why
S2: it is so important for Vision Australia and funding the
S2: vital services that they are able to provide. Why is
S2: something like 100 K so important to raise funds for
S2: Vision Australia and the programs they provide for people around
S2: the country who are blind or have low vision?
S5: It's a really good question, Sam. I think it can
S5: be difficult to truly understand the impact that not for
S5: profit organisations like Vision Australia play for those individuals who
S5: benefit from their support. But if I take my own
S5: individual experiences, when I was diagnosed as legally blind, I
S5: knew nothing about the sector of people with low vision
S5: or blindness. It was this whole new world. And really,
S5: in order to enable myself to continue the life that
S5: I was living, to continue chasing my dreams, I needed
S5: to learn how to access support services. How was I
S5: going to get around as a person who was legally blind,
S5: and all these sort of intricate things that you may
S5: not think about until you're now in that situation for
S5: yourself as an individual. And so for me, being able
S5: to come into Vision Australia to meet people who are
S5: similar to me, who have similar lived experiences, to learn
S5: the little tricks and tips that they might use to
S5: help access technology, the latest adaptive technology that they might
S5: find on a phone or a tablet that enables reading
S5: or typing easier. All those little things are just hard
S5: to access if you're not in the know with where
S5: the sector is going. And so for me, Vision Australia
S5: has really played that pivotal role in ensuring that I
S5: can always continue to push and challenge myself to reach
S5: my dreams with low vision. And so 100 K your way.
S5: It really encompasses the full spectrum of an experience for
S5: someone with low vision or blindness. You know, the funds
S5: raised might go to a young child who is newly
S5: diagnosed to helping support that child, and their parents navigate
S5: through this experience and moving into a schooling system. Or
S5: it might help an older person who needs to be
S5: able to access their daily pills, or to be able
S5: to continue knitting or moving around and staying mobile. So
S5: there's the full spectrum of support that is available to someone.
S5: And so these funds that are raised really enable those
S5: supports to be provided to individuals who are blind or
S5: have low vision. So I think it's a wonderful way
S5: with 100 K your way, you can enter as an individual,
S5: you can enter with teams, you can enter with your school.
S5: And so everybody can get involved and enjoy the positive
S5: elements that exercise provides for us, whilst also raising some
S5: money for a really, really good cause.
S2: And following on from that, Jess, if people would love
S2: to head to your hundred K page or the numerous
S2: other 100 K your way pages that are now live
S2: for people to head along to donate, what's the best
S2: way for people to do that?
S5: The simplest way is just to pop it straight into
S5: Google or whatever your search engine might be. Pop in
S5: Vision Australia 100 K your way and you will find
S5: the website. And the website is really easy to access.
S5: It has explainers on how it works. There's a leaderboard
S5: for those of us that might feel a little bit
S5: competitive and want to see how we're going in amongst
S5: everybody else taking part, and there's also some rewards that
S5: you can receive. So for those out there that are
S5: striving to really raise some significant funds, there are rewards
S5: along the way as well. So the website is fully
S5: accessible and allows you to really understand the impact that
S5: you might be making by raising those funds for Vision Australia.
S2: Perfect. Well, I've been speaking today with Jess Gallagher, Paralympian
S2: and 100 K your way, ambassador. Jess, thank you so
S2: much for your time today. It was great to catch
S2: up with you again and chat all about 100 K
S2: your way.
S5: Thanks, Sam.
S2: And that's all the time we have for today. You've
S2: been listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision
S2: Australia radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the
S2: show together every week. And remember, we love hearing from you.
S2: So please get in touch any time on our email
S2: at Talking Vision. At Vision australia.org. That's talking vision all
S2: one word at Vision australia.org. But until next week it's
S2: Sam Colley saying bye for now.
S1: You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
S1: business hours on 1300 847 406. That's 1300 847 406 or by visiting Vision australia.org.
S1: That's Vision australia.org.