Second funding round - September 2011

Disabled people showcasing their skills

Working alongside community volunteers, people with an intellectual disability will produce their own products and sell them at the Riverside Produce Market in Dargaville This pilot project run by Greenways Trust will challenge public perceptions by highlighting the skills and contributions that people with intellectual disability can make to their community.

Disabled people welcomed in church

To encourage greater inclusion of disabled people in church communities the Christian Blind Mission NZ will develop information and host an interdenominational conference for church leaders and congregations to motivate them to welcome and include disabled people in church life.

Pacific Celebration Day

The Pacific Information Advocacy Support Services will organise a Pacific Disability Celebration Day to widen Pacific community understanding of Pacific elderly disabled people. Celebration day will highlight the achievements of disabled Pacific people by hosting an event for up to 1000 people where government and non-government agencies will disseminate information and disabled Pacific people will showcase their art, cultural displays and entertain visitors.

Achievement captured in photographs

The Blue Goose Papermill Charitable Trust will hold a photography exhibition in various public spaces in Whangarei to highlight the achievements of disabled people in the Whangarei community. They will also offer the installation as a permanent feature. The Trust have a paper mill in Whangarei that’s the only working paper mill in New Zealand using completely recycled materials to make handcrafted products. The accomplished disabled artists at the mill have developed their skill to the point where they are teaching and inspiring others. 

Unique extras

The  ‘Unique Extras’ project run by the DiversityWorks Trust  aims to use popular culture to make disabled people visible in everyday life. It will do this by:

• working with the Shortland Street casting director to include disabled and Deaf people as extras (Shortland Street is a popular New Zealand made TV drama)
• working with Shortland Street script writers to promote story content that creates positive images of disabled people.

As well as making disabled people visible this project will provide employment opportunities for disabled people and provide an opportunity for actors and crew to interact with them.

Auckland Community Circus performs

The Kumarani Productions Trust was funded in round one of the Making a Difference Fund to develop a community circus that would promote social inclusion of disabled people. The current project builds on that first project by funding four public circus performances, a digital exhibition and circus workshops featuring disabled performers.

Creating social change in schools

The Inclusive Education Action Group has been funded to adapt an inclusive education workshop into an online multimedia learning tool for teachers and parents. It will create an on-line community that contributes to social change in schools and early childhood settings and builds on the success of existing workshops by providing opportunity for engagement with isolated communities. Note: Inclusive education means that all disabled children, young people and adults are able to participate fully in their local, regular educational setting  

Accessible public transport in Upper Hutt

The Upper Hutt City Council will host a large public transport open day to trial new accessible public transport features and council transport staff will be offered workshops promoting disability awareness. Resources to improve customer service to disabled people will be used during the day. (The Council received Making a Difference first round funding to develop and launch the resources.)  

Addressing bullying

People First New Zealand Inc will adapt and pilot the UK ‘Keeping Safe’ training package. This package will then be made available to organisations that address incidents of bullying, harassment and abuse of people with a learning disability.

Creating accessible marae in Te Tai Tokerau

This project will identify and address barriers that hinder full participation of disabled Maori in marae activities in Te Tai Tokerau. The project, run by the Ngati Hine Health Trust aims to build upon the success of work funded by the Making a Difference fund  in the first round, which increased participation and active leadership of disabled people and their whanau on marae.

Responding to the needs of Pacific disabled people

Te Rapakau Pacific Trust will launch a multi-pronged, whole of community approach to increasing awareness of, and responsiveness to the needs of Pacific disabled people. The project will engage with community volunteers to find opportunities to work with various community groups such as Pasifika churches and run a community radio campaign.

‘Awhi Atu, Awhi Mai’

Te Kohao Health Ltd are going to build a resource bank that offers time, talents, skills, compassion and materials from whanau (including disabled whanau) to care for other whanau who are in need. It will highlight the contributions that disabled people make.

Strengthening the Deaf community

Northland Parents of Deaf Children Inc will work to strengthen participation of the Deaf community in Northland by providing sign language classes in rural, isolated and more depressed economic areas to Deaf children and young people, their extended whanau and community professionals. The aim is to strengthen the Deaf community in the area so families and whanau feel less isolated.

Young people orchestrating social change

YES Disability Resource Centre has designed a quarterly networking event where disabled and non-disabled young people meet with community organisations and corporations to develop a collective approach to social change for disabled youth.  The event is called ‘The Really Big Kinda Massive Meet Up’ and the project is designed and facilitated by young disabled people.

Culture change in Kapiti

The Disability Information & Equipment Centre has been funded to work collaboratively with the Kapiti District Council and the local Disability Reference Group to encourage culture change within community organizations by providing training to council staff on how to serve customers with a disability and auditing council services for accessibility. The intended outcome is to improve accessibility for people with a disability, to influence decisions made by Council and encourage leadership by Council, to effect further community change.