Rose - NZDSN conference

NZDSN 'Live the Day' conference, Nelson, March 2011

Community Connections has joined a new service provider umbrella group called the New Zealand Disability Support Network (NZDSN). This group is helps organisations like us be better at what we do and also helps us negotiate with the government.

Rose went to the NZDSN 'Live the Day' conference in Nelson during March and this is her report:

I knew the moment Maggie and her girls picked me up to take me to the airport that I was in for an amazing adventure.

Chrissy met us in the airport and we got on the plane. Boy, was that fun!We flew to Wellington, got off and flew to Nelson.

We went to our motel in Nelson called the Admiral Inn, which was very nice. I was very excited.We waited for Jo to come to the motel.

For tea, we went to a hotel and all had something different. Maggie and Chrissy were fun and made me laugh all the time.

Then the conference started. It was at the Rutherford Hotel, which was very flash. We had speeches by John Taylor from Wellington and the Deputy Mayor to welcome us.

Then we socialised with the people at the conference. There were a lot of people – I believe about 250. We got a drink and lots of food. Everyone was friendly. After that we walked back to our motel and crashed.

The next day, we had more speeches and were told how things would work. Then we had Tony , an amazing person who is a double amputee, to speak to us. He was very funny and inspired me.

We then went to workshops. I went to different ones from Chrissy and Maggie. The first one I went to was about healthy relationships. It was good – there was a lady who organised Kidpower and Teenpower and we interacted with them.

We were given an idea which we role played, then gave each other feedback and discussed what it was about. I found this workshop personally beneficial. I found learning to say 'No' very useful and how to react when touched by other people very good. The way that the workshop was done was fantastic and I loved being involved.

It was then lunch time – mmmm, that was good. We had time to talk to people and they were very friendly.

After lunch I went to another workshop called 'Life According to Tony'. It was really good. He spoke about having a good attitude, being passionate and being enthusiastic, and also about communication and team work.

Tony uses humour – he's very blunt and honest. He said his Mum says he is arrogant.

We made bangles with different coloured wool to wear. Attitude was blue, passionate was red and enthusiastic white. Wearing the bangle was to remind us and to make us believe in ourselves.

Amy from Wellington broke a piece of wood with her hands because she believed in herself and had a good attitude, was passionate and enthusiastic. It was amazing!!

Maggie took me to the shops and I bought jeans. We had to hurry as we had dinner that evening. We got to the dinner and there was a dancing show by a group of people with disabilities. Then we had a lovely meal and then we danced.  I boogied for ages. I just love to dance. Everyone was having fun. Maggie and I walked back to motel together and, boy, did I sleep well.

On the last day, we had people from the government speak to us. Before they talked to us, we were asked if we had anything to say and I stood up and told everyone how good Tony's workshop was.

The workshop I went to that day was People Safety Training and it was taken by a man called Jack Wyllie. He was dressed in a 'Sumu Suit' and looked like Mr Blobby. We were taught how to strike someone and say 'No' at the same time. I really enjoyed it and think it will be useful should I ever need to defend myself.

Then we had another yummy lunch. We watched the Christchurch earthquake memorial service while eating lunch. There were speeches and it ended.

Then Maggie took Chrissy and me for a drive. It was lovely – the beach just goes for miles – and Maggie took us to the river where she used to swim. We went up a really steep hill and could see all around us.

I flew home with Chrissy. Boy, she made me laugh all the time – it was fun.

I'd like to thank everyone that helped me go to the conference – also to Maggie and Chrissy for looking after me.

Maggie made sure I didn't get lost and found my workshops and met me afterwards. It was good sharing a motel and she made sure I was ready for each day.

Thank you, everyone, it was a great time and opportunity.