Catwalk's Conquest Tour

Time to get your wallets out and support a very worthy cause! Anita McKenzie is a DRC Southland Trustee and she has requested the following be circulated:

Hullo everybody!

I'm emailing you all because there's a brand new website I would love for EVERYBODY to check out! You'll find it at www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/Anita

Ah yes, I hear you all say, there's a catch - it's a fundraising website and Anita wants some of our money. However, while I would love for as people as possible to make a donation, I actually just want to show off - I'm going to be riding a motorbike (yes, me, in my wheelchair!) from Invercargill to Dunedin in November as part of a nationwide fundraising tour. I can't wait! :-) Me! Back on a motorbike! Very cool!

Check out the website for all the nitty gritty details (like HOW is Anita going to ride a bike? And who is she fundraising for anyway?)

Please feel free to tell EVERYBODY you know who owns a computer about the website, and cheers to everyone who checks it out! (Donations not necessary!)
Anita

Southland man wins access case

In January this year, we ‘blogged’ the story of the Southland District Council’s failure to comply with regulations, in regard to access to the Riverton Focal Point Viewing platform. http://drcsouth.blogspot.com/2008/01/riverton-viewing-platform-fiasco.html.

Peter Dolamore, a qualified Barrier Free Advisor, assessed the platform for accessibility and found it non compliant with the Building Code and yet the Southland District Council had approved Building Consent for the structure. Peter forwarded a full report of his findings to the SDC who argued that they did not have to include access to the top level platform for wheelchair users because the view wasn’t any different up there! Southland DPA members and other disabled people checked out the platform themselves and found that there clearly was a difference.

The Council’s tokenistic response was to issue a notice to fix some of the ‘minor’ problems but flatly refused to admit that they had breached the Building Code by denying wheelchair users access to the top deck.

Peter, with the support of DPA members and other concerned groups and organisations, decided that the only way to resolve the issue was to apply to the Department of Building and Housing for a Determination. Changes to the Building Act in 2004 gave disabled persons the right to apply for a Determination where they believed their access rights had not been respected. Peter is the first disabled person in New Zealand to take a case to Determination according to Alexia Pickering of Accessible Options who says “From the beginning it was important that this one had a positive result.”

We are thrilled to be able to report that the Determination supported Peter’s case and found against the SDC.

The Department found that “the viewing platform as presently constructed does not comply with Clause D1.3.2 of the Building Code” and “the authority’s (SDC) decision to issue a notice to fix that excluded a requirement to provide wheelchair access to the top level of the viewing platform is reversed.”

We can certainly celebrate this victory and congratulations must go to Pete for his dedication in seeing this through. So, we can expect to see ramp access to ALL levels of the Riverton Viewing platform in time for summer? Well perhaps. Apparently the SDC, whilst acknowledging the decision that they were in error for granting the original building consent, are still bleating on about the Determination and, according to the SDC Manager of Building Control, Kevin O’Connor, the Dept of Building and Housing has not adequately grasped that any proposed changes will require a separate building consent!

Could it be that the SDC are worried that ratepayers may ask why this huge stuff up happened in the first place? Who is responsible for this and what action is being taken to ensure this does not happen again? What would happen if Joe Public tried to get a Building Consent for a non compliant building? One would have to wonder if any of the SDC staff involved have even completed a Barrier Free Trust Course?

Questions, answers and comments welcomed...

Mike's Big Day Out

Tuesday 26th August was my big day. I had previously won a prize at DRC’s May Day earlier this year. A ski package at Cardrona Ski Field; a day lift pass, a day adaptive ski hire and a two-hour lesson with a Cardrona ski instructor as well as a volunteer from Snow Sport NZ.

I had to email Lesley Johnson at Cardrona and book in for a days skiing. Our first attempt was the 19th, but due to poor road conditions, we put it off to the next Tuesday at 1pm.
It was a 5.30 start and Debbie was there for my morning cares, breakfast and then out to my sister Clare’s, as she and Roger were taking me up to Cardrona in their four-wheel-drive. 10.30 we were on the Crown Rang and we called Lesley on my mobile, to check out were to park when we got there. 11.00 we were parked at the front doors to the ski hire.

On our way up to Cardrona we met quite a few cars coming down from the ski field which meant that either the snow was bad, or the weather was poor! As we drove closer up the road I started to smile as I knew that there was a white-out, which meant that all the skiers were heading home for the day and I wouldn’t have to wait long to get onto the chairlift, and yes, I was right!!!

We were introduced to Lisa, my ski instructor and Anton, my volunteer for the day. Lisa was from Canada and Anton was French and were both trained on disabled skiing
[Snow Sports NZ], and just how to use a Bi-Ski, my means of transport for the next two hours, Ya Hooooo….!

It took 20 minutes to be all fitted out and strapped-into the Bi-Ski and off we went, man was I on a high, a smile a mile wide that lasted for the rest of the day! A Bi-Ski is a frame similar to a go-cart that has two skis attached underneath and you sit in a bucket seat and have a roll bar at your back. You use two out-riggers, which are little skis on the ends of short elbow crutches. These are used to steer you left by pushing out and down on the left out-rigger and with a bit of speed it turns the Bi-Ski to the left. After a quick lesson on the learners slopes, it was up to the top on MacDougall’s Chairlift, or I think that’s what it said, peering through the haze at the sign? This ride was slow and very cold!

Like all sport, you have a few falls, and I sure had my fair share. I still have two sore ribs. Nevertheless, as Lisa showed me the technique is very similar to skiing using your legs. The trick was the faster you moved the easier it was to turn left, and then right, making big S’s in the snow. I had ten runs from the top to the bottom of the chairlift. On my ninth and tenth runs I had no falls, Yes! Then it was back to my wheelchair parked down in the shed. I had a wonderful day, a dream came true. But boy, were my arms tired and sorrrrrre!!!



With hugs all round, it was time to head home, but I will be back someday for another try.

Many thanks to my carer Debbie, DRC, Libby at SPARC, Lesley, Lisa & Anton at Cardrona,
my sister Clare & Rog, I had a Day of Fun I will Never Forget….

Mike Hamill

FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS

Freedom in the Air (NZ) is my flying for the disabled & disadvantaged charity that I wish to tour New Zealand.

Awaiting registration with the Charities Commission, Freedom in the Air (NZ) will be a not-for-profit entity.

The purpose of Freedom in the Air (NZ) is to share the freedom, joy and accomplishment of flying with the disabled and disadvantaged; to inspire them by example to aim high and not give up on their own dreams.

In 1995 I broke my back in an agricultural plane crash. I was 21. It seemed my lifelong dream had been shattered in an instant.

For a long time I was stonewalled by bureaucracy.

Finally, in June 2006 – 11 years one month and one day since my last flight alone.
In August 2007 I regained a full unrestricted general aviation licence. The aircraft I now fly is the four-seat Cessna 172. This the world’s most mass-produced plane was first delivered in 1956, are still in production today.

The Cessna has space for Freedom in the Air participants to share the flight with their parents, siblings, or a friend.

Flying with Freedom in the Air could be a great opportunity to promote your group, and will give participants a chance to tell their friends that they “flew an aeroplane.”

The Kiwi bird symbolises 'we shall overcome' to Kiwi humans. From Richard Pearse on, our wingless anatomy has never stopped us flying. Disabilities, bureaucracy, bad luck – yes, they're obstacles. But when you've been bitten by the flying bug they can also be spurs.

Barry Cardno
5 Achilles Place, Wanaka 9305
P 03 443 1905 C 027 611 4989
bcardno@xtra.co.nz http://www.freedomintheair.org/

Sponsorship Workshops

Via my Aussie contacts I have received info on some Sponsorship Workshops to be held in Auckland and Wellington in September. The speaker is Julian Moore – truly a Mister Munny in the sponsorship world in the UK and now taking Aussie by storm! The cost is $299 per workshop and there are two on the day. That is Aust $ so works out at around $NZ365 x 2 = $730ish. But wait... there's more!

If you book before the 31st July you can get 3 for the price of 2 and there are flexible options on using this deal too! Check out the details on the website:

http://www.membershipsolutions.net.au

If you want to find out about "Sponsorship Offers - Creating High Value Proposals for Sponsors at Low Cost. Increase your income, decrease your costs" and "Sponsorship Sales - Gaining and Retaining Your High Value Sponsors. Identify New Sponsors and Close the Deal." then these Workshops are an absolute MUST!

See you there!

Free Software for Not-for-Profits

When I was at conference in Aussie last year I heard about an organization called Donortec. Basically, they administer a scheme where not-for-profits can get free software, hardware etc. I said I was from NZ and asked if we could access it here. They said no but it would be available in NZ in 2008. Well, it is here now! You can access the freebies through Techsoup:

http://www.techsoup.net.nz/about-techsoup-new-zealand

They only have Microsoft software at the moment but it will grow as other suppliers get on board with it. This is genuine MS software and just have a look at the list of stuff you can get! Those of us with networks can get all the latest server software and you can get Vista, XP and Office software with up to 50 licenses for a small admin fee.

If you have a look at the Donortec site you can see what may be available to us in the future: http://www.donortec.com.au/directory.

Let us know what bargains you pick up!

Web browser for kids with Autism

John LeSieur is in the software business, so he took particular interest when computers seemed mostly useless to his 6-year-old grandson, Zackary. The boy has autism, and the whirlwind of options presented by PCs so confounded him that he threw the mouse in frustration.
LeSieur tried to find online tools that could guide autistic children around the Web, but he couldn't find anything satisfactory. So he had one built, named it the Zac Browser For Autistic Children in honor of his grandson, and is making it available to anyone for free.

LeSieur's quest is a reminder that while the Web has created important communication and educational opportunities for some people with cognitive impairments, computers can also introduce new headaches for families trying to navigate the contours of disability.
The Zac Browser greatly simplifies the experience of using a computer. It seals off most Web sites from view, to block violent, sexual or otherwise adult-themed material. Instead it presents a hand-picked slate of choices from free, public Web sites, with an emphasis on educational games, music, videos and visually entertaining images, like a virtual aquarium.

Other programs for children already offer that "walled garden" approach to the Web. But LeSieur's browser aims to go further: It essentially takes over the computer and reduces the controls available for children like Zackary, who finds too many choices overwhelming.
For example, the Zac Browser disables extraneous keyboard buttons like "Print Screen" and turns off the right button on the mouse. That eliminates commands most children don't need anyway, and it reduces the chance an autistic child will lose confidence after making a counterproductive click.

Children using the Zac Browser select activities by clicking on bigger-than-normal icons, like a soccer ball for games and a stack of books for "stories." The Zac Browser also configures the view so no advertisements or other flashing distractions appear.

Check out the Zac Browser at http://www.zacbrowser.com. It can be downloaded or run from the site - and best of all IT'S FREE!!!