Strong Voices

Sailability Wellington, a charity giving disabled people the opportunity to sail, has launched an ambitious project to build six new boats.

‍

Heather Walker is working on making herself redundant. That will only happen when Nelson’s Inclusive Sports Trust achieves its goal and disabled sports players are accepted into mainstream sports clubs.

‍

Jo Ellis put her life on hold 17 years ago to care for her disabled son Harvey. She wants to tell the new Government what that meant for her – how she sacrificed her career and lived an isolated life, struggling to find the support she was entitled to but didn’t know about.

Young Whangārei school-leaver Aston Donker was clear about one thing when he turned up to the new Āhei work experience programme earlier this year. He didn’t want a job involving customers.

‍

Gyro Plastics’ Feilding factory does some pretty serious plastics manufacturing for New Zealand’s power and electric vehicle industries.

Psychologist Dr Olive Webb has spent 50 years so far working with people with intellectual disabilities and says it’s time to ditch the ‘them and us’ way of thinking.

‍

“I had a dream to go to the World Games and win gold,” said Invercargill powerlifter Lynett Williams at the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin in June.

‍

New Zealand families are celebrating the release of the first drug to treat the severe neurological condition Rett syndrome and wondering if they will see it here.

‍

The New Zealand football team has left for the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin where, winners or not, it will make history.

‍

Every five years Stats NZ runs the census – counting how many people and dwellings there are in New Zealand. The next census day will be Tuesday, 7 March 2023.

‍