On Tuesday, 17 June – the Franklin community participated in the finale event of the “our stories” project. Local students from Pukekohe and Henderson Intermediates who worked with photographer Bridgit Anderson, produced and presented to the public 10 short DVD documentaries which shared the lives of people from within their community who live with disability.
Mayor Mark Ball and other community leaders attended the event and continued to show strong support to the “our stories” project.
Bob Bettison, Branch President of IHC in Franklin was MC for the evening and he spoke about the importance of creating opportunities for people with disabilities in Franklin. He challenged those present at the evening to look within their own networks and see whether they could offer employment, participation in community groups and friendship to people living with disability in Franklin.
Julia Hawkins, National Self-Advocacy Co-ordinator for IHC also spoke and acknowledged that over each week of the DVD component it was a real pleasure to see the learning which took place to dispel some of the generalizations that are held about people with disabilities. Dispelling those set ideas about what a person with a disability should look like, should act like and what they should and shouldn’t be able to do because of their disability. It was also fantastic to see the guests enjoy themselves, speaking openly and honestly about life with a disability, including the ups and the downs. Julia believes that true friendships were made and greater understanding was fostered over these sessions.
Project Managers Sally Thomas and Pip O’Connell had the pleasure of attending this stunning event and were inspired by some brilliantly made short films which reflected the honest and diverse accounts of people with disabilities in Franklin. They really enjoyed meeting the guests who shared their story and the students from Pukekohe and Henderson.
Sally and Pip would like to particularly knowledge the Franklin community, the Whitehouse Tavern Trust, Manukau City Council and the South Auckland Charitable Trust for their support.
