Profiles
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Focus on employment
Jill Dalby teaches English as a second language at Feilding High School. Partially sighted all her life, she found accessing textbooks and preparing university assignments was tough but she completed a BA in geography and went on to teacher training college in Christchurch and a post-graduate certificate in English as a second language from Massey University.
Strategies that Jill has developed to overcome her partial sight include continually walking around the classroom so that nothing is out of her vision and relying heavily on her sense of hearing. A CCTV gives her access to printed material from her students.
Being determined and prepared to give things a go are Jill's secrets to success.
For more information on the practicalities of careers in teaching, please contact your nearest Vocational Employment Advisor. They are:
Auckland - Eleanor Wicks ph (09) 355 6900
Hamilton - Bob Wicks ph (07) 838 7516
Wellington - Shirley Hampton ph (04) 380 2139
Christchurch - Paul Barclay ph (03) 375 4319
Dunedin - Paula Waby ph (03) 466 4250
Blind lawyers network
Peter Hoskin is a blind solicitor practising in Auckland. He is also the spokesperson for a new organisation called the Blind Lawyers Network. Initiated by the University of Auckland's law school, the organisation is for lawyers and law student members in Auckland and around the country to provide mutual support for and communication with each other.
"We realised we had all faced challenges on our own (such as dealing with copious amounts of printed information and working in the court system)...Now is the time to help each other so that strategies that worked for one person might be adopted by others in a similar position."
It can be difficult for a blind graduate to find work in a law firm because of employers' attitudes. Rapid developments in technology, however, including sophisticated legal databases and special print scanning and access technology, are helping break down some of the barriers to the profession.
The group would like to see young blind students choosing law as a career. If you would like to know more about the Blind Lawyers Network, phone Clive Lansink on (09) 520 4242, or email clansink@paradise.net.nz
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Chairman's Award winner
The Foundation was pleased to present Carolyn Weston the 2002 Chairman's Award at our annual public meeting in October.
Carolyn has worked for the blind and wider disabled community for the past 25 years and was nominated by her local Invercargill district committee for the blind.
Creativity, perseverance and dedication are words often used to describe Carolyn. She has served the Foundation at branch level since 1977 and was the driving force behind the successful Disabilities Resource Centre in Southland.
Her most recent project was to develop a new school for forms one to seven. Mt Anglem College, which opened in 1999, has won several national awards.
Carolyn received the Queen's Service medal in 1995 for her services to the community. She continues to do voluntary work.
Skier faces new challenges
Greg Dellow has a day job at the Hanmer Springs information centre, conveniently close to some of his favourite ski fields.
Before being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at 21, Greg was an avid skier. Four years later, he still continues to ski on a regular basis and go tramping and sea kayaking, just taking a more cautious approach and being extra watchful when in fast motion. Greg's condition limits his peripheral vision but not his attitude.
"It hasn't really affected me in the sense that I've stopped doing anything I did before I was made aware of my condition," he says. Because Greg still has a fairly clear 'line of sight' he continues to be one of the hottest pool players down at his local pub, to the embarrassment of many of his opponents.
One thing he has stopped doing though since joining the Foundation is walking home from a night at the pub by following the white lines in the middle of the road. Other than using a white cane instead, it's life as normal, with the motto, 'believe I can.'
Greg passes that belief onto others when he leads group trips for the Foundation, teaching skills he's learned from years on the slopes and in the water.