This edition contains the following articles:

Editorial              

Margaret Rodgers

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From the board

Gerhard Tromp

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Staying on course and enjoying the adventure

Dave and Sandi Cohen have been sailing together since the 1970’s. They resumed a more traditional lifestyle to raise their family of four children and deal with the increased complexities of two children with a rare metabolic disorder. 

They have both recently retired from permanent employment to develop a commercial organic farm and provide a more adventurous and rewarding lifestyle for their daughter Rebecca. In their spare time Rebecca is helping build the new family yacht.

In this article they share the strategies they use to ensure they are ready to make the most of new opportunities and enjoy themselves along the way.

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Encouraging and enhancing community capacity

Deb Rouget has been involved with people with a disability and their families for over 30 years. In 2003, Deb was integral in the development of Belonging Matters which sprung to life as a catalyst to prevent the exclusion of people with a disability from their communities and enable individuals to enjoy a fulfilling life that is well embedded in community, relationship and citizenship.

Since that time she has been the CEO of Belonging Matters. Deb has also been keen to foster advances that leave people who have a disability and their families with greater control over their lives.

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Learning by doing: embracing opportunities for growth and adaption

Brendon Donohue is a Brisbane-based advocate, traveller, volunteer and accessibility consultant. In this article Brendon looks at how his capacity for independence has grown over time and what has helped and hindered this development.  He shares insights about how he builds his own capacity and how the actions of others can further diminish this. 

Brendon lives in the inner city and has just returned to the work force. He is committed to lobbying for the removal of barriers to accessibility for blind and vision impaired Australians, ensuring that legislation and policies surrounding accessibility are properly implemented and upheld.

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Building organisational capacity – the job that never ends…

Antony Jaeger is currently the NDIS project manager at St Vincent De Paul Society NSW and has worked in a variety of roles in the community sector. After studying psychology and philosophy at university, he began supporting people with disability to become more connected to their community, and to work with families to build their capacity and confidence.

In this article he looks at how strategies for building and sustaining the capacity of staff can be embedded within an organisation. By creating such a workplace culture, staff will ideally be better placed to build their own capacity, and that of the people they work with. 

When not at the office, Antony enjoys spending time with his family, attempting to surf, and reliving his youth on an ‘old man’s’ motorbike.

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Growth and hope: Creating structures that enable the good life

Heather Batt is a mother, wife, teacher and a committed lover of nature. In this article Heather reflects on her own capacity building journey with her elder sister, Myrtle. She explores how our structures of belief and thought are shaped over time and how capacity is built as our relationship to these structures grows and develops. 

Heather lives in a ‘beach infested’ town in central Queensland. Recent opportunities have enabled Heather to witness Myrtle unfurl her wings and emerge into a new life of colour and joy.