Tracy Wang is a volunteer in Vision Australia where she serves as a volunteer Mandarin and Cantonese interpreter for those in need. She also serves as the facilitator in one of the Telelink groups. Tracy is also a visually impaired person who lives a quality and active life. She is dedicated to sharing her experiences and knowledge to help people with vision impairment living a more independent, exciting, and fulfilling life.
Transcript Available
Charmaine: Today, our guest is Tracy. She is a volunteer at Vision Australia and responsible for leading a group within its Telelink program. Today, she will be sharing with us about the services provided by Telelink and the assistance it offers to visually impaired individuals, as well as the support provided by Vision Australia. We will also provide information about similar activities in regions outside Victoria for our listeners. Hello, Tracy! Thank you for accepting the interview with Speak My Language.
Tracy: Hello, Charmaine! I'm glad to have this opportunity.
Charmaine: Tracy, I know you are a volunteer at Vision Australia, responsible for leading a group within its Telelink program. First, Can you please introduce what kind of organisation Vision Australia is.
Tracy: Vision Australia is a non-profit organisation that provides services for visually impaired individuals, enabling them to have a quality life, be more independent, and happier.
Charmaine: You are responsible for a Telelink group activity at Vision Australia. Could you please introduce what kind of activity it is?
Tracy: Telelink is a free service provided by Vision Australia to those in need. It considers their common interests and shared challenges, organising chat and communication groups through phone and online social platforms.
Charmaine: So it's about chatting in groups.
Tracy: Yes, it's about chatting and sharing the difficulties each individual faces, providing support and assistance to each other.
Charmaine: Does Telelink have groups based on different languages and interests?
Tracy: Yes, they have hobby groups, social groups, and groups in different languages such as Cantonese and Mandarin for Chinese speakers, as well as groups in other languages like Italian and Arabic.
Charmaine: What requirements do they need to meet to participate in Telelink activities?
Tracy: Firstly, individuals need to be members of Vision Australia. This service is provided to its members, and they can participate in Telelink activities after becoming a member through an assessment process.
Charmaine: As you mentioned earlier, there are various types of communication in Telelink groups. Could you share what kinds of topics are usually discussed in these groups?
Tracy: Telelink has many different groups. For example, there are cooking groups for those who enjoy cooking, and gardening groups communicate about the challenges visually impaired individuals face during planting. Additionally, members also share information about new products that are helpful for visually impaired people. During the pandemic and lockdowns, group members shared their experiences and supported each other. The atmosphere in the groups is relaxed and enjoyable, and sometimes they share funny things about their experiences with visual impairments in daily life.
Charmaine: It seems that there is a wide variety of topics and a relaxed and happy atmosphere in Telelink. How do visually impaired individuals benefit from participating in Telelink activities, in terms of chatting, sharing, and enhancing their personal knowledge and everyday life skills?
Tracy: It can be challenging for visually impaired individuals to go out, and browsing the internet is not always convenient for them due to vision limitations. In the groups, we can exchange knowledge. For example, group members have told me about useful Apps that can help me find places I want to go. Everyone can ask questions in the groups, and through this mutual exchange, I have learned a lot and expanded my horizons.
Charmaine: It seems that Telelink is truly beneficial, as through these conversations and exchanges, individuals can gain valuable knowledge. Tracy, can you tell us how Vision Australia provides support and helps visually impaired individuals acquire essential skills for daily life?
Tracy: Vision Australia offers a wide range of services. For example, they provide assistance with safety issues in daily home life by visiting visually impaired individuals' homes and teaching them how to do household tasks more safely. They also offer various training programs, such as using electronic devices, how to make phone calls and responding to emails. There are many services that train us to overcome challenges in daily life, and I have benefited a lot from them.
Charmaine: As you mentioned, Vision Australia is dedicated to helping visually impaired individuals with their daily life skills. Besides providing resources for visually impaired individuals in need, do they also offer inclusive services and activities for the community to participate in?
Tracy: Yes. Vision Australia regularly organises workshops for family members of visually impaired individuals and relevant healthcare and service professionals to educate them on how to serve and understand the needs of visually impaired individuals better, in order to provide better care for them.
Charmaine: These inclusive services are great, as they enable people around visually impaired individuals to learn how to better care for them and provide assistance.
Tracy: That's right.
Charmaine: Our listeners come from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. If their English is not very good, how can they contact Vision Australia?
Tracy: They can visit the Vision Australia website at www.visionaustralia.org, where they can find contact information.
Charmaine: Are there any translation services available to assist those who are not proficient in English?
Tracy: Yes. They can call the translation phone line at 13 1450, and once connected, they can have the call transferred to Vision Australia for translation.
Charmaine: Thank you, Tracy. Speak My Language listeners can visit the website you mentioned to find more information, and we will also include the website address on our website so that listeners from different states and territories can access it.
We have come to the end of the program. Thank you very much, Tracy, for accepting our interview and introducing the activities of Telelink, a free phone and online platform under Vision Australia. It allows visually impaired individuals to chat and exchange knowledge with others from different places in their own language, such as Cantonese. Tracy, do you have any other information to share with the listeners?
Tracy: Many people think that having a visual impairment is unfortunate, but I believe that what makes us fortunate is living in Australia and in this era where organisations like Vision Australia provide us with assistance and services. There are also many advanced products that allow us to live like normal individuals. As long as we take the first step, we can live a more fulfilling and exciting life. I feel grateful and fortunate to have taken that step, and I believe that others can do it too.
Charmaine: Thank you Tracy, for accepting the interview, and thank you to the listeners for tuning in to the program.
