March 4, 2025 • 28 mins
Sam speaks to Fraser Coast blindness and low vision advocate and fundraising superwoman Joanne Cabot who has, among other things, recently set up the Fraser Coast Blindness and Low Vision Hardship Fund, hosted a screening of the Blind Sea alongside a mini disability expo in the region.
Then later in the show, we hear from Paralympian and Vision Australia ambassador Jess Gallagher, who's here to tell us all about the upcoming annual 100K Your Way challenge taking place across the month of April to raise vital funds for Vision Australia's services to the blind and low vision community.
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:13):
From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
your host Sam Colley.
S2 (00:21):
Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
for the next half hour we talk matters of blindness
and low vision.
S3 (00:29):
I would just get used to using a system and
be able to function a little bit faster. And then
I'd get another vision decline, and it was like starting
all over again. So it was really frustrating. And I
had to say to myself, look after your wellbeing, take
time out, do a little bit at a time, have
(00:50):
a break and then come back to it. And, you know,
eventually I got there.
S2 (00:54):
Welcome to the program. This week we hear from a
couple of women achieving amazing things in the blind and
low vision community, starting off with Joanne Cabot, a community
leader from the Fraser Coast region in south east Queensland
who's also a mental health and wellbeing advocate for people
(01:17):
in the blind and low vision community, through her Instagram
livewell with vision loss. And then after you hear from Joanne,
it's my great pleasure to be joined by 100 Kia
Ambassador and Paralympian Jess Gallagher, who chats to me all
about the upcoming 100 K Your Way challenge in April
(01:39):
and how to get involved. I hope you enjoy this
week's episode of Talking Vision. Kicking off the show this week.
Our first guest has really been super busy over the
past year and a bit she's organised a screening of
(02:01):
The Blind see Matt Formston movie alongside director Daniel Fenech.
She's set up a blindness and low vision hardship fund
for people in the Fraser Coast region in south east Queensland.
She's hosted her own mini disability expo, all of this
while experiencing vision loss due to macular degeneration. But she's
(02:25):
not stopping there because 100 K is coming up. She's
taking part in that and setting up a dinner in
the dark in Hervey Bay. Her name is Joanne Kabat
and she joins me now. Jo, welcome to Talking Vision.
Thanks so much for your time.
S3 (02:42):
Thank you so much, Sam. I'm excited to be here
and chatting with you today.
S2 (02:46):
And we're very excited to have you. Now, Joe, you've
been quite busy in the local community up in the
Fraser Coast. You know, you've created quite a few events and,
you know, this has been a really good opportunity to
create awareness, promote inclusivity and accessibility. So what sort of
(03:07):
things have you been up to?
S3 (03:09):
Yes, yes, it has been a busy period, I must say.
I've been doing multiple things at once, which is kind
of what I tend to do. I never stop at
just doing one thing. It's like, oh, what next? What
else can I do? All of these add ons. So
it began last year when The Blind See was released
with Matt Formston obviously surfing the the biggest waves in
(03:32):
the world, and it didn't come to the Fraser Coast.
And I thought, oh, that's really disappointing because whilst I
can't see a lot, I was, you know, just hoping
to enjoy the experience of attending that movie. So I
mentioned something on Instagram and immediately the director of the
Blind See reached out to me and he said, This
(03:54):
is Daniel.
S2 (03:55):
That's right. Thanks. I've had a chat to Daniel. He's great.
A lot of fun to chat to. Daniel's the best. Yeah,
he's so good.
S3 (04:01):
He's so good. And he basically said, Joe, I can
make this happen if you can make it happen and
game on. And so it began. So from there it
was months of trying to find a venue. The cinemas
here weren't overly helpful and I was working with I
(04:22):
don't know if you spoke to JP, he's the movie distributor.
S2 (04:26):
No, I haven't spoken to JP. I did speak to Daniel.
S3 (04:30):
Right. Oh, Daniel. Daniel linked me to JP because he'd
be the best person to help me with the distribution and,
you know, finding a venue and everything. And JP was amazing.
But both of us didn't get very far with, like,
the local cinemas, the Fraser Coast, the council here, they
(04:50):
were amazing from the beginning, but we were talking more
about outdoor locations, which would be great for awareness but
not for weather up here on the Fraser Coast in
tropical Queensland.
S2 (05:02):
Yeah, that.
S3 (05:03):
Wasn't going to work. So I went around to a
few locations and eventually I applied for a grant with
the Hervey Bay RSL, and that grant was approved. And
so that's how we came about to having the film
screened there at the RSL. And they paid for the
(05:24):
screening costs, they paid for the venue, and they also
paid for some low vision and community awareness badges that
I wanted to create and hand out to anybody who
had low vision or blindness in our community, which was
just incredible.
S2 (05:41):
Yeah. It is. That's fantastic. And you've been involved in
a mini disability expo as well. You've sort of that's
been in the pipeline recently.
S3 (05:52):
So I decided, okay, so we've got the movie coming
to town. This is fantastic. But it's also another opportunity
to add another.
S4 (06:03):
Layer, which.
S3 (06:05):
Was to hold a mini disability expo for anybody with
any disabilities, families, friends and to create more awareness to
any of the community attending Blind See. So what I
did is I reached out to just around eight organizations
(06:25):
in the community who not only just offered like support workers,
but I wanted to actually show the types of things
people could do. So we had team rehab there and
they provide exercise, physio, which is something with my legal
blindness I've really appreciated doing. I had a transportation organization there,
(06:49):
Health Cabin Co. They were fantastic. Fraser Coast Support Coordination
who offer incredible support in the community, trying to connect
people to the NDIS and achieve their goals through the NDIS.
So we had a bunch of different organisations attending this
and for the ones that couldn't attend, like Vision Australia
(07:12):
and Quantum and National Plan managers here who also work
with NDIS, they all sent brochures, which was incredible. And
I also had a stack of brochures that I contributed
to because I reached out to the local community and
they were incredible in offering donations to people with low
(07:34):
vision and blindness, as well as goodie bags, which we
collated together, which just had a few discounts and some
recommendations and some more information for anyone attending. With low
Vision and Blindness and Quantum and Vision, Australia had a
bunch of brochures along with Paralympic Sports, goalball, Disability Sports Australia.
(07:58):
So it was quite a mix of different things for
the Disability Expo.
S2 (08:03):
And how have you gone over that past five months
navigating numerous things, including, you know, doing all this while
experiencing vision loss and the series of challenges that presents.
How have you managed to adapt and navigate your way
through that?
S3 (08:23):
Yeah. Good point. I have had two vision declines. I
have myopic macular degeneration. So as a high myopic child,
as I became older, unfortunately it changed into myopic macular degeneration,
which is mainly degeneration of the central vision. So that's
the key part I've lost in both of my eyes,
(08:46):
which is very similar to Matt Formston, our world famous
blind surfer. So we kind of see a little bit similarly,
which was interesting to get two people the same together.
It's been hard, I must say, because as I'm working
through this, it was mostly alone with some assistance from
my incredible support worker Renee from Health Cabin Co. And
(09:09):
I think the hardest part is how slow I was.
And I would just get used to using a system
and be able to function a little bit faster, and
then I'd get another vision decline and it was like
starting all over again. So it was really frustrating. And
I had to say to myself, look after your wellbeing,
(09:32):
take time out, do a little bit at a time,
have a break and then come back to it. And,
you know, eventually I got there.
S2 (09:40):
Yeah it is. It does present so many different challenges,
but there's also always ways to get on top of
it and make things achievable. Bite off small parts and
that can do attitude. That's just helped everything go from
strength to strength. And you're absolutely right. It is hard.
It is challenging. You know, you can't all be on
(10:02):
top of everything. You can't be happy all the time
and it's okay to be frustrated. It's okay to feel down.
It's okay to think, oh no, I have to go
through this again. But then you get over that hump
and you keep going and you achieve all these amazing things.
Like you've recently opened the Fraser Coast Low Vision and
(10:24):
Blind Community Hardship Fund. That's quite interesting.
S3 (10:28):
Yes, yes, it's really exciting. And I think having had
a degenerative eye disease. So I'm 55 now and I'm
at the point where I am legally blind. I've wanted
to give back and help other people who are experiencing
severe vision loss. And I'm really aware, and I have
(10:50):
been since Covid, to be quite honest, that a lot
of people aren't on NDIS, they're struggling to get on,
they've been waiting for a long time, or they're not
getting the supports that they need through the aged care
system either and living regionally combats that too. Um, we
(11:10):
struggle with particularly when you can't drive getting around accessing
our ophthalmologists. Vision Australia to our closest is Sunshine Coast
and Brisbane. So through the Fraser Coast Low Vision and
Blind Community Hardship Fund. I'm hoping that we can actually
help people who are struggling, for example, if they're not
(11:33):
able to afford a long cane or they can't get
to the long cane training on the Sunshine Coast or
in Brisbane. Hopefully we can assist through getting them there
and navigating the life the way that they want it
to be.
S2 (11:48):
And you've got a couple of really exciting events coming up,
including 100 K your way, which is just sort of
kicking off over here in Vision Australia or ramping up
to do 100 K our way in April. So that's
all very exciting. A lot of people joining up and
enthusiasm is really building. So that's pretty cool.
S3 (12:10):
Yeah, I actually I did it for the first time
last year. Sam and I absolutely loved it, and I
seized it as an opportunity to create awareness in the community.
I'd only been using my cane for a year approximately,
and being a fairly sporty person, I thought, okay, let's
(12:30):
mix this up. I'll get out to the local pool
and I'll swim, and I'll do some of the tourist
sites in the Fraser Coast and just be walking around
with my cane, clocking up those 100 k's that way.
And I also got on my bike, so it was
a great opportunity to get outside, do some exercise, join
(12:51):
a couple of friends in doing it, sometimes create some
awareness as well as fundraise for Vision Australia. Because this
initiative means a lot to me as far as the
funds are going to help so many people access mobility. Services,
which is such an incredibly important thing for us when we're.
(13:12):
We have vision loss, and it's also about our balance,
those mobility. Services help us learn to walk more safely
and feel more confident when we're. Out in the community.
S2 (13:23):
And we'll get a feel of those details later on
at the end. But I'm keen to just hear about
your dinner in the dark in Hervey Bay. That's coming up.
S3 (13:35):
Oh yes. Absolutely. I am so excited to let everybody
know that there's another fundraising initiative, and it came out
of a joint sponsorship for a dinner with the Lions
Club and the vineyard, which has recently opened here, which
is a stunning, stunning location on the Esplanade where you
(13:57):
can eat and drink, you know, wonderful food. Really have
a special evening with some of your friends and family.
So I approached the vineyard. I think it was last
Friday because I knew that they were quite interested in
actually doing something with me after they'd heard about the
blind See event. And they are. So we're going to
collaborate on a dinner in the dark event. We're looking
(14:22):
at the end of April at the moment, the 24th
of April, but we're yet to put that one in stone.
So stay tuned for the date for this one. And
basically it's going to be a blindfolded dinner and a
major fundraising event once again for the Fraser Coast low
vision and blind community.
S2 (14:41):
Oh, perfect. And if people would like to get in
touch with you, Joe, what's the best way for them
to do that?
S3 (14:49):
Yeah, yeah, unfortunately, I don't have the link to my
100 K page. That's okay. Put it up today because
I have been promoting Andrew K your way and trying
to encourage more people to get on board. And because
I love Vision Australia. They've been incredibly supportive to me
right from the outset, which is so important when you're
on this vision loss journey. So I'll put that up
today on my Instagram and Facebook handles, which are at
(15:13):
livwell with Vision Loss. So that's live well with vision loss.
So you'll see me doing all sorts of promotions. You'll
even find me doing all of my 100 K exercises
from last year. And it's basically an inspirational motivational page
(15:34):
for anyone experiencing vision loss so that you know, you
don't feel alone in that journey. So there's that one there.
And I also have a try booking fund. And that's
where the Fraser Coast Community Fund is, my latest fundraiser
from the Blind See event. We fundraised over $1,000, which
(15:55):
is an incredible start for.
S2 (15:56):
That fund certainly.
S3 (15:58):
So the try booking fundraiser is try booking. Try Booking.com
and once again I'll put that up on my Instagram page.
So it's really easy for everybody to find.
S2 (16:10):
That's all happening. That'd be. Yeah, that'd be fantastic. Looking
forward to hearing how that goes.
S3 (16:16):
Yes, yes, I'll reach out just before the event and
provide some more information if you like, as well as
a wrap up afterwards, and by then too. So stay
tuned for everybody who is on social media, because I'm
in the middle of creating my YouTube page.
S2 (16:32):
Oh, okay.
S3 (16:32):
Which yeah, that's going to be an inspirational motivational page
where I'm also doing balance activities and interviews and connecting
with other people experiencing low vision and blindness, and also
organizing my website right now so that one soon to
go live. But I'll post those on my Instagram Live
(16:54):
well with Vision Loss page once they're ready to go.
S2 (16:57):
Perfect. Well, I've been speaking today with Joanne Cabot, the
founder of the Livewell with Vision Loss Instagram page and
fundraising extraordinaire on the Fraser Coast. It's been an absolute
pleasure to catch up with you today, Joe, and hear
about what you've been up to and what's coming up
(17:19):
in the future. So all the very best.
S3 (17:21):
Thank you so much, Sam. It's just been wonderful to
talk to you and to share my story as well
as my vision.
S2 (17:34):
I'm Sam Culley and you're listening to Talking Vision on
a Vision Australia Radio, Associated Stations of Reading Radio and
the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation
there with Joe Cabot. If you missed any part of
that chat with Joe or you'd love to hear it again.
(17:55):
Talking vision is available on the Vision Australia Radio website.
Simply head to VA radio.org. That's VA radio.org. Or you
can find the program on the podcast app of your
choice or through the Vision Australia library. With the 100
(18:16):
Koa challenge kicking off in just under four weeks time,
what better time than to chat with our next guest?
She's done it all. She's been a summer and winter Paralympian,
a Vision Australia ambassador and now ambassador for 100 K
your way. It's none other than Jess Gallagher, who returns
(18:40):
to Talking Vision to chat with me right now. Jess,
welcome back to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for
your time today.
S5 (18:49):
Thanks, Sam. It's always good to chat.
S2 (18:51):
Now, Jess, to start off with, we're here to chat
about 100 K your way. Of course. Now, people may
have heard of this over the years, but for people
new to the idea out there, what is hundred K
your way?
S5 (19:06):
Well, this April we're encouraging people to run, walk, swim,
roll whatever form you feel like doing 100km your way,
and it gives us the opportunity to raise some funds
whilst having fun moving around at the same time for
Vision Australia. And all funds raised will be going to
(19:27):
helping people who are blind or have low vision live
the life they choose. So I'm really excited to be
on board as an ambassador this year and seeing how
I can push out that 100 K in April.
S2 (19:38):
Oh, perfect. And Jess, how did you become an ambassador?
How did that all sort of come about? Was there
one sort of event or one day where you thought,
you know what, I want to get behind this cause
this is, you know, such an amazing organization that's been
so important to me and both of us. You know,
we've really benefited over the years. But how did that
(20:00):
come about?
S5 (20:01):
Well, really, my relationship with Vision Australia started over 20
years ago when I was diagnosed as legally blind. And
the first person that my ophthalmologist doctor, Lisa Reddington, put
me in touch with was Vision Australia. And they really
enabled me to understand my low vision, what it meant,
how I could at the time I was in year 12.
(20:23):
So they sent a occupational therapist out to the school
to help educate the teachers on the things I could
and couldn't see. And it really opened my eyes, and
no pun intended, to really what the world of low
vision could be for me as a person, and to
ensure that I was able to live the life that
I dreamt about and whilst understanding it was now looking
(20:45):
a little different. It didn't mean that I couldn't chase
those dreams. They just took me down a different pathway,
which is how I ended up becoming a Paralympian. As
someone who was a really sporty kid and a talented
netballer at the time, as a as a youngster. And really,
it was 15 years ago this year that I became
an ambassador for Vision Australia, and it came about after
(21:07):
I won my first Paralympic medal at the 2010 Vancouver
Winter Paralympics. I was still utilizing the services of Vision Australia,
and the CEO at the time, I think was one
the CEO at the time, I can't remember, it's been
so long now. Yeah. Asked if I would would get
on board and help support the organisation and it was
a no brainer for me. Having been the recipient of
(21:30):
so much love and support from the Vision Australia community,
it was a very natural fit to be able to
put my hand up and hopefully give back to others.
So they've been asking me for a couple of years
to get involved with the hundred K your way, but
being a Paralympian and with a lot of travel, it
has been tricky trying to find the time as I'm
often overseas. But this year was the year I'm not
(21:54):
overseas in March or April, so it meant I could
really dedicate myself to helping the cause and promoting a
really worthwhile activity.
S2 (22:02):
And we'd love to have you. And as you've mentioned there,
you know, you've been a Paralympian. You've done it all really.
On the skiing, rowing, cycling, what have you. Now tying
into that, how are you going to be doing your
hundred K this April?
S6 (22:19):
Oh, it's a big question, Sam.
S5 (22:21):
I've been thinking about it and I feel like it's
somewhat cheating. If I included my training that I'm currently
doing as a paracyclist, I feel like that would just
sort of be taking the easy option if I included
the full time training I already do as a professional athlete,
so I'm leaning towards doing the 100 k walking. I
(22:41):
have to be a little bit careful. Running is a
little bit tricky at the moment given my training for cycling,
so I think I might be hitting the pavement and
trying to notch up those KS through walking.
S2 (22:51):
Let's go into the background of 100 K and why
it is so important for Vision Australia and funding the
vital services that they are able to provide. Why is
something like 100 K so important to raise funds for
(23:11):
Vision Australia and the programs they provide for people around
the country who are blind or have low vision?
S5 (23:19):
It's a really good question, Sam. I think it can
be difficult to truly understand the impact that not for
profit organisations like Vision Australia play for those individuals who
benefit from their support. But if I take my own
individual experiences, when I was diagnosed as legally blind, I
knew nothing about the sector of people with low vision
(23:40):
or blindness. It was this whole new world. And really,
in order to enable myself to continue the life that
I was living, to continue chasing my dreams, I needed
to learn how to access support services. How was I
going to get around as a person who was legally blind,
and all these sort of intricate things that you may
not think about until you're now in that situation for
(24:01):
yourself as an individual. And so for me, being able
to come into Vision Australia to meet people who are
similar to me, who have similar lived experiences, to learn
the little tricks and tips that they might use to
help access technology, the latest adaptive technology that they might
find on a phone or a tablet that enables reading
(24:21):
or typing easier. All those little things are just hard
to access if you're not in the know with where
the sector is going. And so for me, Vision Australia
has really played that pivotal role in ensuring that I
can always continue to push and challenge myself to reach
my dreams with low vision. And so 100 K your way.
(24:41):
It really encompasses the full spectrum of an experience for
someone with low vision or blindness. You know, the funds
raised might go to a young child who is newly
diagnosed to helping support that child, and their parents navigate
through this experience and moving into a schooling system. Or
it might help an older person who needs to be
able to access their daily pills, or to be able
(25:02):
to continue knitting or moving around and staying mobile. So
there's the full spectrum of support that is available to someone.
And so these funds that are raised really enable those
supports to be provided to individuals who are blind or
have low vision. So I think it's a wonderful way
with 100 K your way, you can enter as an individual,
you can enter with teams, you can enter with your school.
(25:24):
And so everybody can get involved and enjoy the positive
elements that exercise provides for us, whilst also raising some
money for a really, really good cause.
S2 (25:34):
And following on from that, Jess, if people would love
to head to your hundred K page or the numerous
other 100 K your way pages that are now live
for people to head along to donate, what's the best
way for people to do that?
S5 (25:52):
The simplest way is just to pop it straight into
Google or whatever your search engine might be. Pop in
Vision Australia 100 K your way and you will find
the website. And the website is really easy to access.
It has explainers on how it works. There's a leaderboard
for those of us that might feel a little bit
competitive and want to see how we're going in amongst
(26:13):
everybody else taking part, and there's also some rewards that
you can receive. So for those out there that are
striving to really raise some significant funds, there are rewards
along the way as well. So the website is fully
accessible and allows you to really understand the impact that
you might be making by raising those funds for Vision Australia.
S2 (26:34):
Perfect. Well, I've been speaking today with Jess Gallagher, Paralympian
and 100 K your way, ambassador. Jess, thank you so
much for your time today. It was great to catch
up with you again and chat all about 100 K
your way.
S5 (26:51):
Thanks, Sam.
S2 (27:00):
And that's all the time we have for today. You've
been listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision
Australia radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the
show together every week. And remember, we love hearing from you.
So please get in touch any time on our email
at Talking Vision. At Vision australia.org. That's talking vision all
(27:24):
one word at Vision australia.org. But until next week it's
Sam Colley saying bye for now.
S1 (27:35):
You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
business hours on 1300Â 847Â 406. That's 1300Â 847Â 406 or by visiting Vision australia.org.
That's Vision australia.org.
From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
your host Sam Colley.
S2 (00:21):
Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
for the next half hour we talk matters of blindness
and low vision.
S3 (00:29):
I would just get used to using a system and
be able to function a little bit faster. And then
I'd get another vision decline, and it was like starting
all over again. So it was really frustrating. And I
had to say to myself, look after your wellbeing, take
time out, do a little bit at a time, have
(00:50):
a break and then come back to it. And, you know,
eventually I got there.
S2 (00:54):
Welcome to the program. This week we hear from a
couple of women achieving amazing things in the blind and
low vision community, starting off with Joanne Cabot, a community
leader from the Fraser Coast region in south east Queensland
who's also a mental health and wellbeing advocate for people
(01:17):
in the blind and low vision community, through her Instagram
livewell with vision loss. And then after you hear from Joanne,
it's my great pleasure to be joined by 100 Kia
Ambassador and Paralympian Jess Gallagher, who chats to me all
about the upcoming 100 K Your Way challenge in April
(01:39):
and how to get involved. I hope you enjoy this
week's episode of Talking Vision. Kicking off the show this week.
Our first guest has really been super busy over the
past year and a bit she's organised a screening of
(02:01):
The Blind see Matt Formston movie alongside director Daniel Fenech.
She's set up a blindness and low vision hardship fund
for people in the Fraser Coast region in south east Queensland.
She's hosted her own mini disability expo, all of this
while experiencing vision loss due to macular degeneration. But she's
(02:25):
not stopping there because 100 K is coming up. She's
taking part in that and setting up a dinner in
the dark in Hervey Bay. Her name is Joanne Kabat
and she joins me now. Jo, welcome to Talking Vision.
Thanks so much for your time.
S3 (02:42):
Thank you so much, Sam. I'm excited to be here
and chatting with you today.
S2 (02:46):
And we're very excited to have you. Now, Joe, you've
been quite busy in the local community up in the
Fraser Coast. You know, you've created quite a few events and,
you know, this has been a really good opportunity to
create awareness, promote inclusivity and accessibility. So what sort of
(03:07):
things have you been up to?
S3 (03:09):
Yes, yes, it has been a busy period, I must say.
I've been doing multiple things at once, which is kind
of what I tend to do. I never stop at
just doing one thing. It's like, oh, what next? What
else can I do? All of these add ons. So
it began last year when The Blind See was released
with Matt Formston obviously surfing the the biggest waves in
(03:32):
the world, and it didn't come to the Fraser Coast.
And I thought, oh, that's really disappointing because whilst I
can't see a lot, I was, you know, just hoping
to enjoy the experience of attending that movie. So I
mentioned something on Instagram and immediately the director of the
Blind See reached out to me and he said, This
(03:54):
is Daniel.
S2 (03:55):
That's right. Thanks. I've had a chat to Daniel. He's great.
A lot of fun to chat to. Daniel's the best. Yeah,
he's so good.
S3 (04:01):
He's so good. And he basically said, Joe, I can
make this happen if you can make it happen and
game on. And so it began. So from there it
was months of trying to find a venue. The cinemas
here weren't overly helpful and I was working with I
(04:22):
don't know if you spoke to JP, he's the movie distributor.
S2 (04:26):
No, I haven't spoken to JP. I did speak to Daniel.
S3 (04:30):
Right. Oh, Daniel. Daniel linked me to JP because he'd
be the best person to help me with the distribution and,
you know, finding a venue and everything. And JP was amazing.
But both of us didn't get very far with, like,
the local cinemas, the Fraser Coast, the council here, they
(04:50):
were amazing from the beginning, but we were talking more
about outdoor locations, which would be great for awareness but
not for weather up here on the Fraser Coast in
tropical Queensland.
S2 (05:02):
Yeah, that.
S3 (05:03):
Wasn't going to work. So I went around to a
few locations and eventually I applied for a grant with
the Hervey Bay RSL, and that grant was approved. And
so that's how we came about to having the film
screened there at the RSL. And they paid for the
(05:24):
screening costs, they paid for the venue, and they also
paid for some low vision and community awareness badges that
I wanted to create and hand out to anybody who
had low vision or blindness in our community, which was
just incredible.
S2 (05:41):
Yeah. It is. That's fantastic. And you've been involved in
a mini disability expo as well. You've sort of that's
been in the pipeline recently.
S3 (05:52):
So I decided, okay, so we've got the movie coming
to town. This is fantastic. But it's also another opportunity
to add another.
S4 (06:03):
Layer, which.
S3 (06:05):
Was to hold a mini disability expo for anybody with
any disabilities, families, friends and to create more awareness to
any of the community attending Blind See. So what I
did is I reached out to just around eight organizations
(06:25):
in the community who not only just offered like support workers,
but I wanted to actually show the types of things
people could do. So we had team rehab there and
they provide exercise, physio, which is something with my legal
blindness I've really appreciated doing. I had a transportation organization there,
(06:49):
Health Cabin Co. They were fantastic. Fraser Coast Support Coordination
who offer incredible support in the community, trying to connect
people to the NDIS and achieve their goals through the NDIS.
So we had a bunch of different organisations attending this
and for the ones that couldn't attend, like Vision Australia
(07:12):
and Quantum and National Plan managers here who also work
with NDIS, they all sent brochures, which was incredible. And
I also had a stack of brochures that I contributed
to because I reached out to the local community and
they were incredible in offering donations to people with low
(07:34):
vision and blindness, as well as goodie bags, which we
collated together, which just had a few discounts and some
recommendations and some more information for anyone attending. With low
Vision and Blindness and Quantum and Vision, Australia had a
bunch of brochures along with Paralympic Sports, goalball, Disability Sports Australia.
(07:58):
So it was quite a mix of different things for
the Disability Expo.
S2 (08:03):
And how have you gone over that past five months
navigating numerous things, including, you know, doing all this while
experiencing vision loss and the series of challenges that presents.
How have you managed to adapt and navigate your way
through that?
S3 (08:23):
Yeah. Good point. I have had two vision declines. I
have myopic macular degeneration. So as a high myopic child,
as I became older, unfortunately it changed into myopic macular degeneration,
which is mainly degeneration of the central vision. So that's
the key part I've lost in both of my eyes,
(08:46):
which is very similar to Matt Formston, our world famous
blind surfer. So we kind of see a little bit similarly,
which was interesting to get two people the same together.
It's been hard, I must say, because as I'm working
through this, it was mostly alone with some assistance from
my incredible support worker Renee from Health Cabin Co. And
(09:09):
I think the hardest part is how slow I was.
And I would just get used to using a system
and be able to function a little bit faster, and
then I'd get another vision decline and it was like
starting all over again. So it was really frustrating. And
I had to say to myself, look after your wellbeing,
(09:32):
take time out, do a little bit at a time,
have a break and then come back to it. And,
you know, eventually I got there.
S2 (09:40):
Yeah it is. It does present so many different challenges,
but there's also always ways to get on top of
it and make things achievable. Bite off small parts and
that can do attitude. That's just helped everything go from
strength to strength. And you're absolutely right. It is hard.
It is challenging. You know, you can't all be on
(10:02):
top of everything. You can't be happy all the time
and it's okay to be frustrated. It's okay to feel down.
It's okay to think, oh no, I have to go
through this again. But then you get over that hump
and you keep going and you achieve all these amazing things.
Like you've recently opened the Fraser Coast Low Vision and
(10:24):
Blind Community Hardship Fund. That's quite interesting.
S3 (10:28):
Yes, yes, it's really exciting. And I think having had
a degenerative eye disease. So I'm 55 now and I'm
at the point where I am legally blind. I've wanted
to give back and help other people who are experiencing
severe vision loss. And I'm really aware, and I have
(10:50):
been since Covid, to be quite honest, that a lot
of people aren't on NDIS, they're struggling to get on,
they've been waiting for a long time, or they're not
getting the supports that they need through the aged care
system either and living regionally combats that too. Um, we
(11:10):
struggle with particularly when you can't drive getting around accessing
our ophthalmologists. Vision Australia to our closest is Sunshine Coast
and Brisbane. So through the Fraser Coast Low Vision and
Blind Community Hardship Fund. I'm hoping that we can actually
help people who are struggling, for example, if they're not
(11:33):
able to afford a long cane or they can't get
to the long cane training on the Sunshine Coast or
in Brisbane. Hopefully we can assist through getting them there
and navigating the life the way that they want it
to be.
S2 (11:48):
And you've got a couple of really exciting events coming up,
including 100 K your way, which is just sort of
kicking off over here in Vision Australia or ramping up
to do 100 K our way in April. So that's
all very exciting. A lot of people joining up and
enthusiasm is really building. So that's pretty cool.
S3 (12:10):
Yeah, I actually I did it for the first time
last year. Sam and I absolutely loved it, and I
seized it as an opportunity to create awareness in the community.
I'd only been using my cane for a year approximately,
and being a fairly sporty person, I thought, okay, let's
(12:30):
mix this up. I'll get out to the local pool
and I'll swim, and I'll do some of the tourist
sites in the Fraser Coast and just be walking around
with my cane, clocking up those 100 k's that way.
And I also got on my bike, so it was
a great opportunity to get outside, do some exercise, join
(12:51):
a couple of friends in doing it, sometimes create some
awareness as well as fundraise for Vision Australia. Because this
initiative means a lot to me as far as the
funds are going to help so many people access mobility. Services,
which is such an incredibly important thing for us when we're.
(13:12):
We have vision loss, and it's also about our balance,
those mobility. Services help us learn to walk more safely
and feel more confident when we're. Out in the community.
S2 (13:23):
And we'll get a feel of those details later on
at the end. But I'm keen to just hear about
your dinner in the dark in Hervey Bay. That's coming up.
S3 (13:35):
Oh yes. Absolutely. I am so excited to let everybody
know that there's another fundraising initiative, and it came out
of a joint sponsorship for a dinner with the Lions
Club and the vineyard, which has recently opened here, which
is a stunning, stunning location on the Esplanade where you
(13:57):
can eat and drink, you know, wonderful food. Really have
a special evening with some of your friends and family.
So I approached the vineyard. I think it was last
Friday because I knew that they were quite interested in
actually doing something with me after they'd heard about the
blind See event. And they are. So we're going to
collaborate on a dinner in the dark event. We're looking
(14:22):
at the end of April at the moment, the 24th
of April, but we're yet to put that one in stone.
So stay tuned for the date for this one. And
basically it's going to be a blindfolded dinner and a
major fundraising event once again for the Fraser Coast low
vision and blind community.
S2 (14:41):
Oh, perfect. And if people would like to get in
touch with you, Joe, what's the best way for them
to do that?
S3 (14:49):
Yeah, yeah, unfortunately, I don't have the link to my
100 K page. That's okay. Put it up today because
I have been promoting Andrew K your way and trying
to encourage more people to get on board. And because
I love Vision Australia. They've been incredibly supportive to me
right from the outset, which is so important when you're
on this vision loss journey. So I'll put that up
today on my Instagram and Facebook handles, which are at
(15:13):
livwell with Vision Loss. So that's live well with vision loss.
So you'll see me doing all sorts of promotions. You'll
even find me doing all of my 100 K exercises
from last year. And it's basically an inspirational motivational page
(15:34):
for anyone experiencing vision loss so that you know, you
don't feel alone in that journey. So there's that one there.
And I also have a try booking fund. And that's
where the Fraser Coast Community Fund is, my latest fundraiser
from the Blind See event. We fundraised over $1,000, which
(15:55):
is an incredible start for.
S2 (15:56):
That fund certainly.
S3 (15:58):
So the try booking fundraiser is try booking. Try Booking.com
and once again I'll put that up on my Instagram page.
So it's really easy for everybody to find.
S2 (16:10):
That's all happening. That'd be. Yeah, that'd be fantastic. Looking
forward to hearing how that goes.
S3 (16:16):
Yes, yes, I'll reach out just before the event and
provide some more information if you like, as well as
a wrap up afterwards, and by then too. So stay
tuned for everybody who is on social media, because I'm
in the middle of creating my YouTube page.
S2 (16:32):
Oh, okay.
S3 (16:32):
Which yeah, that's going to be an inspirational motivational page
where I'm also doing balance activities and interviews and connecting
with other people experiencing low vision and blindness, and also
organizing my website right now so that one soon to
go live. But I'll post those on my Instagram Live
(16:54):
well with Vision Loss page once they're ready to go.
S2 (16:57):
Perfect. Well, I've been speaking today with Joanne Cabot, the
founder of the Livewell with Vision Loss Instagram page and
fundraising extraordinaire on the Fraser Coast. It's been an absolute
pleasure to catch up with you today, Joe, and hear
about what you've been up to and what's coming up
(17:19):
in the future. So all the very best.
S3 (17:21):
Thank you so much, Sam. It's just been wonderful to
talk to you and to share my story as well
as my vision.
S2 (17:34):
I'm Sam Culley and you're listening to Talking Vision on
a Vision Australia Radio, Associated Stations of Reading Radio and
the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation
there with Joe Cabot. If you missed any part of
that chat with Joe or you'd love to hear it again.
(17:55):
Talking vision is available on the Vision Australia Radio website.
Simply head to VA radio.org. That's VA radio.org. Or you
can find the program on the podcast app of your
choice or through the Vision Australia library. With the 100
(18:16):
Koa challenge kicking off in just under four weeks time,
what better time than to chat with our next guest?
She's done it all. She's been a summer and winter Paralympian,
a Vision Australia ambassador and now ambassador for 100 K
your way. It's none other than Jess Gallagher, who returns
(18:40):
to Talking Vision to chat with me right now. Jess,
welcome back to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for
your time today.
S5 (18:49):
Thanks, Sam. It's always good to chat.
S2 (18:51):
Now, Jess, to start off with, we're here to chat
about 100 K your way. Of course. Now, people may
have heard of this over the years, but for people
new to the idea out there, what is hundred K
your way?
S5 (19:06):
Well, this April we're encouraging people to run, walk, swim,
roll whatever form you feel like doing 100km your way,
and it gives us the opportunity to raise some funds
whilst having fun moving around at the same time for
Vision Australia. And all funds raised will be going to
(19:27):
helping people who are blind or have low vision live
the life they choose. So I'm really excited to be
on board as an ambassador this year and seeing how
I can push out that 100 K in April.
S2 (19:38):
Oh, perfect. And Jess, how did you become an ambassador?
How did that all sort of come about? Was there
one sort of event or one day where you thought,
you know what, I want to get behind this cause
this is, you know, such an amazing organization that's been
so important to me and both of us. You know,
we've really benefited over the years. But how did that
(20:00):
come about?
S5 (20:01):
Well, really, my relationship with Vision Australia started over 20
years ago when I was diagnosed as legally blind. And
the first person that my ophthalmologist doctor, Lisa Reddington, put
me in touch with was Vision Australia. And they really
enabled me to understand my low vision, what it meant,
how I could at the time I was in year 12.
(20:23):
So they sent a occupational therapist out to the school
to help educate the teachers on the things I could
and couldn't see. And it really opened my eyes, and
no pun intended, to really what the world of low
vision could be for me as a person, and to
ensure that I was able to live the life that
I dreamt about and whilst understanding it was now looking
(20:45):
a little different. It didn't mean that I couldn't chase
those dreams. They just took me down a different pathway,
which is how I ended up becoming a Paralympian. As
someone who was a really sporty kid and a talented
netballer at the time, as a as a youngster. And really,
it was 15 years ago this year that I became
an ambassador for Vision Australia, and it came about after
(21:07):
I won my first Paralympic medal at the 2010 Vancouver
Winter Paralympics. I was still utilizing the services of Vision Australia,
and the CEO at the time, I think was one
the CEO at the time, I can't remember, it's been
so long now. Yeah. Asked if I would would get
on board and help support the organisation and it was
a no brainer for me. Having been the recipient of
(21:30):
so much love and support from the Vision Australia community,
it was a very natural fit to be able to
put my hand up and hopefully give back to others.
So they've been asking me for a couple of years
to get involved with the hundred K your way, but
being a Paralympian and with a lot of travel, it
has been tricky trying to find the time as I'm
often overseas. But this year was the year I'm not
(21:54):
overseas in March or April, so it meant I could
really dedicate myself to helping the cause and promoting a
really worthwhile activity.
S2 (22:02):
And we'd love to have you. And as you've mentioned there,
you know, you've been a Paralympian. You've done it all really.
On the skiing, rowing, cycling, what have you. Now tying
into that, how are you going to be doing your
hundred K this April?
S6 (22:19):
Oh, it's a big question, Sam.
S5 (22:21):
I've been thinking about it and I feel like it's
somewhat cheating. If I included my training that I'm currently
doing as a paracyclist, I feel like that would just
sort of be taking the easy option if I included
the full time training I already do as a professional athlete,
so I'm leaning towards doing the 100 k walking. I
(22:41):
have to be a little bit careful. Running is a
little bit tricky at the moment given my training for cycling,
so I think I might be hitting the pavement and
trying to notch up those KS through walking.
S2 (22:51):
Let's go into the background of 100 K and why
it is so important for Vision Australia and funding the
vital services that they are able to provide. Why is
something like 100 K so important to raise funds for
(23:11):
Vision Australia and the programs they provide for people around
the country who are blind or have low vision?
S5 (23:19):
It's a really good question, Sam. I think it can
be difficult to truly understand the impact that not for
profit organisations like Vision Australia play for those individuals who
benefit from their support. But if I take my own
individual experiences, when I was diagnosed as legally blind, I
knew nothing about the sector of people with low vision
(23:40):
or blindness. It was this whole new world. And really,
in order to enable myself to continue the life that
I was living, to continue chasing my dreams, I needed
to learn how to access support services. How was I
going to get around as a person who was legally blind,
and all these sort of intricate things that you may
not think about until you're now in that situation for
(24:01):
yourself as an individual. And so for me, being able
to come into Vision Australia to meet people who are
similar to me, who have similar lived experiences, to learn
the little tricks and tips that they might use to
help access technology, the latest adaptive technology that they might
find on a phone or a tablet that enables reading
(24:21):
or typing easier. All those little things are just hard
to access if you're not in the know with where
the sector is going. And so for me, Vision Australia
has really played that pivotal role in ensuring that I
can always continue to push and challenge myself to reach
my dreams with low vision. And so 100 K your way.
(24:41):
It really encompasses the full spectrum of an experience for
someone with low vision or blindness. You know, the funds
raised might go to a young child who is newly
diagnosed to helping support that child, and their parents navigate
through this experience and moving into a schooling system. Or
it might help an older person who needs to be
able to access their daily pills, or to be able
(25:02):
to continue knitting or moving around and staying mobile. So
there's the full spectrum of support that is available to someone.
And so these funds that are raised really enable those
supports to be provided to individuals who are blind or
have low vision. So I think it's a wonderful way
with 100 K your way, you can enter as an individual,
you can enter with teams, you can enter with your school.
(25:24):
And so everybody can get involved and enjoy the positive
elements that exercise provides for us, whilst also raising some
money for a really, really good cause.
S2 (25:34):
And following on from that, Jess, if people would love
to head to your hundred K page or the numerous
other 100 K your way pages that are now live
for people to head along to donate, what's the best
way for people to do that?
S5 (25:52):
The simplest way is just to pop it straight into
Google or whatever your search engine might be. Pop in
Vision Australia 100 K your way and you will find
the website. And the website is really easy to access.
It has explainers on how it works. There's a leaderboard
for those of us that might feel a little bit
competitive and want to see how we're going in amongst
(26:13):
everybody else taking part, and there's also some rewards that
you can receive. So for those out there that are
striving to really raise some significant funds, there are rewards
along the way as well. So the website is fully
accessible and allows you to really understand the impact that
you might be making by raising those funds for Vision Australia.
S2 (26:34):
Perfect. Well, I've been speaking today with Jess Gallagher, Paralympian
and 100 K your way, ambassador. Jess, thank you so
much for your time today. It was great to catch
up with you again and chat all about 100 K
your way.
S5 (26:51):
Thanks, Sam.
S2 (27:00):
And that's all the time we have for today. You've
been listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision
Australia radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the
show together every week. And remember, we love hearing from you.
So please get in touch any time on our email
at Talking Vision. At Vision australia.org. That's talking vision all
(27:24):
one word at Vision australia.org. But until next week it's
Sam Colley saying bye for now.
S1 (27:35):
You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
business hours on 1300Â 847Â 406. That's 1300Â 847Â 406 or by visiting Vision australia.org.
That's Vision australia.org.
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