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 Tony
My name is Tony, I speak
Arabic and I was born in Lebanon. My family came to
Australia when I was a baby. I went to St George
School and left in 1985. Then I got a job at a
workshop, mostly doing physical activities but the
place closed down. I live with my family, have a
girlfriend and friends and I like to go out and do
window shopping too. I wanted to broaden my horizon
and learn more about disability, go out and talk about
that without shame. I became a member of MDAA and got
involved in some meetings and training.
In 2006 Milanka asked if I
wanted to nominate for MDAA's Committee. I put my name
on the list and I got elected. I wanted to learn how
to represent the organisation and bring more people. I
am going to learn more public speaking and to budget
my money and improve my literacy and enroll in a TAFE
course.
 Nidhi
I am from Indian
background, I live with my parents and I have cerebral
palsy and a vision impairment. My hobbies include
quizzes and traveling. I speak five languages
including English. Some of the problems I face are
that I find it difficult to become familiar with new
places.
I have lived in New Zealand
where I did public speaking in schools about
disability. I have one brother and one sister, older
than me. I have travelled to the USA, Europe, New
Zealand and around Australia
 George
K
George is the youngest of
eight boys and girls in a family of Italian-Lebanese
background. He went to a Parramatta school where he
completed his studies in 1987 and where he became
involved in wheelchair sports such as Football,
Soccer, Basketball and Hockey.
Currently, George visits
Bossley
Park School to assist
children with disability practising wheelchair sports
and recreational activities. He also coaches the
West's Tigers Wheelchair Football Team at
Balmain.
 Fouzia
I was born in Afghanistan
and I was a teacher in High School in Physics and
Mathematics. When the war started in my country I
joined my parents in India, bringing along my own
family.
My family and I came to
Australia as refugees in 1994. We went to see the
doctor for a check-up and he told me that my daughter
had a heart condition and an intellectual disability.
Now she is in year eleven. In 1995 my son had some
speech issues, and after a lumbar puncture he got much
worse.
A friend told me about MDAA and
they helped dealing with Centrelink and also to get
into TAFE. Thanks to MDAA and thanks to my husband who
helps me in everything.
 Luis
Luis came to Australia
from a Spanish speaking country in Central America.
Whilst in Central America he finished High School and
started working with community organisations.
Now in Australia he works part
time and lives with his family. He likes computers,
dance music and also doing voluntary work. Luis is
currently doing a TAFE course. Luis is also working
for MDAA as the Community Voices
Coordinator.
 Shu
Shu was born in Hong Kong
and speaks Cantonese and Mandarin, as well as English.
She finished school in 1990. Since then she has
completed a range of courses including Office Skills,
English, Living Skills and a Diploma in Ceramics and a
Retail course.
Shu enjoys gardening, cooking
and knitting. In her spare time she likes traveling
and lately she has been to New Zealand and the Snowy
Mountains. She lives on her own and works for MDAA as
an Administrative Assistant and also is a member of
the NSW Council for Intellectual
Disability.
 George
B
George B was born to
Ukrainian background parents who came to Australia
from Poland in the mid 1950's. He was born Down Under
and feels strongly about this and his heritage. You
can catch him riding, negotiating his way through
platform stations or footpaths on his way to advocacy
meetings, TAFE campuses or surfing the
Internet.
George is a member of the MDAA
Committee and works with other community organisations
and parenting groups, is a Support person and worker
for Self Advocacy Sydney as well as teaching computers
thru neighbourhood centres to the aged. George has one
son.
 Robina
Robina has a family of
five girls and boys, two of whom have disability. She
was born in Kashmir, where she worked in the primary
healthcare area and learned to speak some of the local
dialects.
Robina graduated as a Bachelor
of Science in Chemistry and a Masters in Anthropology
in Pakistan. Painting, teaching and reading about
nature and religious matters are important to
her.
 Dulia
Dulia came from South
America to Australia more than 20 years ago. Dulia
cares for her daughter who has a learning impairment
as a result of medical negligence when she was just
over 2 years old. Her daughter now not only looks
after herself but also looks after children in a child
care centre where she works part-time.
Dulia believes that her life
experiences have been both difficult and gratifying.
She thinks that sharing these experiences with others
could help them to avoid some of the problems her
family had to face. Dulia is also a member of MDAA
Committee.
 Milanka
Milanka came from Serbia
in 1969 and since the late seventies she has had a
vision impairment. Milanka has been involved with MDAA
for a long time and she was one of the first Community
Voices.
Milanka likes to tell
communities about her own experiences of disability
and ethnicity, because she feels that people need more
knowledge and understanding about disability so
everyone can be more supportive. In the little spare
time Milanka has, she enjoys learning new skills to
enrich her life. Milanka gets involved in many things,
the latest being a Communication Certificate at TAFE.
Milanka is MDAA's Chairperson and is very active in
different disability organisations.
Carmelita
Carmelita was born in
Manila, Philippines where she finished high school and
later obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business
Administration.
Her hobbies are singing and
playing the piano and she enjoys writing poems and
doing voluntary work, especially on access and
residential issues.
 Pamela
Pamela's family came to
Australia at the end of the 18th Century from Russia.
Pamela is the proud mother of two daughters and lives
with her husband. Pamela has overcome some painful
physical conditions.
She thinks "people with
disability from a NESB would be more easy to
discriminate against and may find it very difficult to
get their needs met" and these are some of the reasons
why she decided to join the Community Voices
project.
 Shobna
Shobna was born in Fiji,
her father was American and her mother from India.
Multiculturalism is in her blood. "Working as a nurse
for years, I got one side of the story and being under
someone else's care gave me the other side" she
explains talking about disability.
"I want to promote helpfulness,
help people to feel comfortable around us and have a
voice" and she adds "I want to have a voice and that
is why I wanted to be a member of the CV".
 Rachel
Rachel came from Bulgaria
to Australia with her son in 1980. Overseas she
graduated and worked as a Nurse, but after losing
sight in one eye she swapped careers and finished an
Electrocardiogram Technician course and obtained a
Diploma in Early Intervention in Child Development. In
Australia she got a Diploma in Social Welfare and at
the same time she started working for MDAA as an
Advocate until 2000 when her vision deteriorated even
further and she went to do voluntary community
work.
In 2002 Rachel had a serious
train accident and suddenly she became a double
amputee, her independence took a tumble again, but not
for long, as she soon learned to walk on her own.
Currently she is a Board member Eastside Advocacy and
MDAA Comittee. She keeps her roots volunteering in
community services to people who are ageing or being
guest speaker on disability, advocacy and ethnicity
issues. "I like to promote awareness regarding
disability and break down barriers" she says. Tenacity
and strong will are some of this woman's
attributes.
Some Community Voices identify as
having a mental health problem. There is much stigma in our
community around mental illness. Some members have therefore
chosen not to have their photo on this webpage.
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