Life in Eureka

Unable to hear the sound for I can not hear anyone walking down the lane in Milan, Italy.

Walking down the corridor at the Milano Centrale Railway Station, seeing people rushing, chatting, yelling, dropping bags,  children even babies crying – unable to hear them.

Persons waving their arms and hands in the air caught my sight BUT did not give me any clue for it is body gestures on what they were asking.

Coming out of the Train Station, taxi drivers bombed at my face as they were talking, for I can not pick up any Italian conversation. One thing for I noticed their fingers rubbing against thumbs – sign for money, pointing themselves to take you and in the car, pointing out there where to go.

Try hard to lip read the Italian language such as i tassì, lo albergo, la tariffa, and try to think of the word ‘deaf’ in Italian – sorda (feminine). End up signing/pointing and facial expression as no via shaking head sideways in front of the taxi drivers. Only one good Samaritan driver forward as he understands for sono sorda (I am deaf). 

Seeing the traffic – drivers waving their hands in the air, beeping their car horns and facial expressions such as angry, mutter, frown even annoy on the way to the lo albergo (hotel). So alien to me – their Italian culture. So strange to me!

Arriving right up to the front of the ingresso dell’hotel (hotel entrance), tassista (taxi driver) pointing himself and pointing to my luggage for he carries my baggage to the reception dell’hotel (hotel reception). Try to lip read tassita to the persona di accoglienza (hotel reception) – nothing works for me, but I see him using his hand flat and patting to his ear if it means to block or nothing to hear. The tassita turned and gave me a number sign for the la tariffa in return I gave him the money.

Travelling around Italy by tour bus – oh what fun to meet new people and to learn a new language. The tour manager/guide was great, for she knew that I am deaf among the hearing visitors.

Torre pendente di Pisa – Tower of Pisa

The impressive sight of Torre pendente di Pisa, surrounding many people who were chatting, clicking their cameras, talking and seeing their facial expressions of awes, walking even shouting each other. Nothing helps me to hear except to look at the wonder of Torre pendente di Pisa and walked up to the top. Wow, seeing a beautiful view on a sunny and warm day. Oh, what a peaceful calm for me!

Mind you! Watch out for the beggers, crafty people walking around with a double folded newspaper, children hanging around you even behind your back. Beware if you were carrying the bag over the shoulder, backpack for they are intelligent enough to pitch your expensive camera, purse, passport, and many other presents/items. Watching the crafty men who carrying a double folded newspaper – oh boy how quick they were, and they were sneaking as a snake. Oh boy! How Amazing their thief artwork in pitching money, purse by bumping you, or tippytoe passing you. Do not hear the sob story from the fake beggars and dirty clothes children wear in the street. Saw a couple children running down the alley street after pitching the visitor’s money out of their bag while the visitor taking photos. How so quiet the children pitched the money out of the purse. I looked up at the visitor’s face in terror and shouting for help when everyone looked at the visitor by hearing the cried of support. I was quick to read the body language, the surrounding of the places, in the street and stay alert, even to stand behind the person from your tour group.

Sitting down in ristorante pizzeria (pizza Resturant) and enjoying the delicious sizeable thin crust pizza – twice as the dinner plate for I eat the whole lot. My new-found friends from California were learning my sign language and gestures over pizza, the il cameriere (waiter) watching me signing in the air for he was interested in my sign language and walk around by collecting dirty plates, washing the tables surrounding us.  A time to pay la fattura (the bill), noticed il cameriere talking to il gestore della pizza (the pizza manager) about me. Hard to lip-read what they were saying, for I saw they put the hands up to their ears. Il gestore della pizza granted us free for the meal we ate, OH what a delightful surprise for il gestore della pizza signed back to me in Italian sign language. I understand a few Italian sign language in my early days. 

In Firenze (Florence), a person handed me the phone as thinking I will talk over the phone. I signed in no – each hand moved oppositely and pointed to my ear – nothing to hear. How stupid or lack of understanding che cosa è sordo per te? (What is deaf mean to you?)  Oh, bother! Do I need to explain or walk away? Lovely chap for he is hard of hearing muttering to his daughter. Impossible to lipread this chap for I understand he was telling her by his stern facial expression- what a stupid girl! I can not hear the phone even can not speak over the phone. The daughter was so embarrassing for I saw her face went shocked and showing a few rosy cheeks.

There is no such language to learn to speak in Italian except to signs and sights of beauty surrounding lands and places in Italy. BUT to learn to read their Italian nouns and basic sentence tan to lip-read their mouth.

Many trips to Europe – Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Austria, Monaco was one of my highlight experiences. I wish to go back to Europe again….

What hotter day in Eureka so far!

Today the temperature is climbing to a big 30oC.

Not long ago, I need to go to the toilet room and only just to found Joseph, our older dog sleeping in the laundry next to the smallest toilet room.

Blast! Joseph for he won’t shift to make way for me to get in. Rat! I climbed over him.

Our other two dogs – Jazz the young one while the newest pup waiting for me near the dining table.

I put many ice cubes in their water bowl so our newest pup can play with it. Oh, what a fun way to play with fresh ice cubes by suckling it or patting the water into splashing all over the floor.

Dogs are struggling to find the right place to keep their bodies cold while I am working in the office with a couple of windows where the lovely fresh breezes coming in. Haaa, what a refreshing cool breeze is in my office at home, for I am resuming to work today!

I would not allow dogs to go outside for the grasses are far too hot for their little paws this afternoon, and the lawns are dying for the rain to come.

We, in the rural community, are brisking for a long drought for the second year in the Waikato area. We all are careful about using the water when milking the cows, washing the clothes, watering the gardens, even vegetable gardens, and the list so on.

our property

facing our farm neighbour.

We live here for 6 years and we were lucky to have our skills in conserve of the environment.

Growing flowers, herbs, or shrubs such as Lavenders, tobacco, Thyme, or Rosemary in the garden.

If you are living in the hot and dry or almost to the drought time of the summer season. Do you want to save money on buying herbs, tobacco, any types of flowers into beauty cream such as hand/face cream or for health through eating and cooking flavour in any meals?

Lavenders and Garlic Bulbs

Tobacco leaves and Lavenders

It is not hard to make or to grow flowers, herbs, and shrubs from cutting or bought seeds/plants in the nursery centre or in the shop. I was grateful for our grandparents, and great-grandma taught me to grow anything from the garden or even to save buttons, materials for recycling clothing, and other products around the house.

You probably think that I am an old fashioned deaf person as a greenie person or frugal person. I used my skill to create something useful to recycled item for future use or make herb flavour/spices, a healthy product like lavender pillow, soap. It is basically on budget-wise on saving the cost than buying expensive or rubbish stuff from the supermarket, health shop, or online shops.

Since my travelling days over and my studies in BA degree were over back to 2009, I began to grow flowers and vegetables into food such as jams, chutneys, plum, and tomatoes sauces and reuses broken items such as bookcase into a wall shelf, or a planter box. I found that when I am doing this and it saves me the cost without spending an expensive item or buying plum/tomato sauces at the supermarket.

My partner came into our relationship, and he found the price on buying tobacco is higher due to the MPs want to put tax and price up each year. For example, this year, a packet of tobacco – Rothmans Red 30g cost $59.90. The MPs wanted every smoker to cut back or stop smoking due to high lung cancer. I told my partner that I could grow tobacco in the garden but not allow to sell to other people due to the law. Anyone in New Zealand can legally buy seeds and develop their own tobacco. Although it is legal to sell tobacco seeds, it is illegal to sell home-grown tobacco plant material or to give it as a gift. Tobacco, which is grown, must be for personal use only. He could not believe it that I learned to grow tobacco from our great-granduncle, and my partner said, why not and go ahead if I am okay to grow and know what to do. So I am growing tobacco and keep thousand of seeds over 11 years. He still buys tobacco from the shop and switches to homegrown tobacco from time to time. It gave him the benefit of cost saving for bills to pay or himself.

What did I do with the lavender? I picked the seeds and use for baking scones, perfume as pot Pourri, or to make a little pillow, wheat bag. I cut and dried lavenders by hanging upside down in the sunroom. I used the same way by growing garlic bulbs, herbs into dried leaves for baking.

Growing fruit trees and vegetables in our extensive gardens, and I use fruits such as plum, feijoa, crabapple, loquats into sauces, chutneys, and jams. With vegetables, I use any vegetables such as tomatoes into tomatoes sauces, chutneys or salads, pies or quiches. Yes, you can freeze any vegetables up to 6 months or a year. The more you can make sauces or jams and store in the pantry, and it will give you a long run. As my partner often complaining that I made too many and he provides some chutneys, sauces or jams to his workmates.

So why not start growing simple plants such as lavender, herbs, get a fruit tree, and you will have time to wait for another 2 years or ask your family or friends if they got any fruit trees to give you some fruits. Be sure to provide jams or sauces in return to your family or friends in the way of saying thank you for the fruits or vegetables.

You will be amazed by how much you can save on any cost and enjoy making any items at home than buying in the shops.

“The Beginnings is always today.” Mary Wollstonecraft.

This morning I woke up in the early hour of this morning and sitting outside in the courtyard reflecting on our plan to do today. Rusty (my partner) was telling me about the mega bushfire in Australia over the radio news. He knew that I can not hear people talking through the microphone at the media stations. I looked out at our large silk tree standing next to the carport and there was the sun shining through many branches. Something was telling me that it is a new day for them to face the latest challenge to fight through horror times.

Horror, dismay, frustrate, pointing at someone to blame, calling for more help, and the list so on. The biggest disaster of all is the most significant bushfire in Australia from October 2019 to present the year of 2020.

Story from the NZ Herald and a Photo from AP

Here are several quotes that I found through my memory in my studying in History via Linguistics papers at the University of Waikato.

1. With the new day come new strength and new thoughts by Eleanor Roosevelt.
2. Every day is a chance to begin again. Don’t focus on the failures of yesterday, Start today with positive thoughts and expectations. By Catherine Pulsifer – author.
3. Every moment is a fresh beginning. T S Eliot
4. New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings. Lao Tzu

Today the amount of burning fires covering about 10 million hectares around Australia than anywhere in the other countries in the past.  Many people found it is hard to believe the size of the burning lands. The last bush fire was in Siberian, and they lost 2.7 hectares the previous year.

There is a history of the bushfires in Australia dating back to 1851 – Black Thursday in the state of Victoria. They lost 5 million hectares over several weeks, and 12 people died. The temperature back in 1851 was 47C, according to the record held at the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience. Here is the picture below.

There had been 12 worst bushfires dating back to 1851, including 2019-2020 in Australia. You can check out these 2 websites here – Forest Fires Management in Victoria, Australia

– Bushfires in Australia

The hardest thing that people may or may not know that there are many people/children with disabilities out there. I learned there were two Deaf families lost their farms, business and their contents even machinery equipment from the Facebook via Deaf Community group. I recently read many comments in the social media via Facebook by other D/deaf people struggle to understand what happens, where to find help, the need for Emergency evacuation by what kind of types of equipment because they can not hear the warning sounds, radio warning or door knocking etc.

The biggest problem was the lack of interpreter on breaking news through many social media such as a news channel. Not every Media Networks, they provide an interpreter along with Chief Police, Fire Officer, Civil Defense or the Prime Minister. Of course, many Deaf people are angry for the lack of interpreter on television because it is not accessible for them as communication through visual sign language instead of voice/speaking language. To my understanding that most Social Media does not own or provide a contract interpreter for all D/deaf people even elderly people.

It is impossible for any D/deaf people to lip read them if the speaker is not facing the camera or mumbling along while talking. We, Deaf people only pick up around 25-35% of lip reading.

For God sake! Put interpreter on ALL new media programme during the disaster event and do not leave the interpreter out when downsizing the camera screen and facing the speaker only. Of course, I am getting annoyed with the Australian Media for the lacking of providing an interpreter and leaving the interpreter out when camera downsizing to focus on the main speaker during the outbreaking news in Australia. Yes, there were captioning showing but not every D/deaf people even People First (people with learning disabilities) can not read or understand the whole sentence.

Did you know about the history of the bushfire in Australia or in any other countries? Do you understand why there is a danger of having a bush fire even feeling threaten by bushfire? Do you understand why there is a long drought anywhere in the world even in here soon? Have you ever learnt any history of bushfire, natural environment disasters at school? Perhaps it is time to persuade the Ministry of Education and teachers to set up a curriculum on history at school. We can teach any children and student to learn from the past to the future so we can avoid or to adapt the life-changing out there.

Mobile phones everywhere in the street, in cars, in the cafe, in the toilet room, on the bus even at home.

Good grief! It can be damn nuisances to see these young people, students, and adults using mobile for communicating out there on your sight.

This morning we went to Morrinsville to avoid the city of Hamilton for quick shopping, paying the bill for the person I am supporting and my mileage claim cheque at the bank. We decided to head out to a cafe for our morning tea, and we sat outside, looking out in the street.

Thinking about the past – how people communicate?

How difficult for many Deaf/Hard of Hearing people because of the barrier?

Here is what the telephone looks like many years ago.

These kinds of phones were permanently installed inside the house or in the phone booth. These phones can not be removed to take away when you are traveling to another city/town. Imagine the photo on the right – a boy was calling Santa during the 1940s. All Deaf people couldn’t hear over these kinds of phones because of no face to face. It was okay for you, people who can call and visited any of your family or friends. Many Deaf people take a car or bus to visit a friend or family on the other side of the town/city, but only to find their Deaf friends were not home, then to travel to another Deaf friend’s home. It was a waste of petrol, money if they were catching the bus and times.

Who really invented this type of phone?

Alexander Graham Bell – Wikipedia

from Elon University

It was Alexander Graham Bell along with Thomas Watson by 1876. Did you know that Alexander had a deaf mother – Eliza Grace Symonds Bell and his deaf wife – Mabel Hubbard? Did you know that Alexander was a teacher of the Deaf (also he was an engineer/inventor)? His mother and his wife were an audism by using lip-reading and speech therapy. Of course, no sign language!@

Moving forward with much new technology of communicating trends and it made people, including Deaf/Hard of Hearing people’s lives better and easier anyway in the world.

The problem is everyone is carrying with them by walking, driving and having a meal at the same time looking at the social media on the table. It is dangerous to send a text or chat over the mobile while driving the car. Where are the manners?

For us, we put our mobiles in the pocket or in my handbag when we go out shopping or to see the doctor. When my partner drives a car, he would pull over to the side lane/bream of the road and answer the call.

Yes, it made our lives better to communicate with Deaf people, staff, doctors, police, and family.  From old phones into fax machines, then mobile by using texts or voice over mobile and internet such as social media, twitters, Facebook, chat, messengers, emails, skype, video conferencing, and many other apps. Sadly not to all Deaf people who can not afford or their ‘funding applicant’ declined for any ‘wonderful’ communicating technology.

Waking up in the early hour of the morning!

Peeping through the glass window while having breakfast and a cup of coffee.

Mm, what is the next plan to do out in the extensive gardens?

Let sort out which projects I made a list to do over five years. To complete the new vegetable and herb garden or do weeding in the large centre flowers, native shrubs, and carpet roses garden or do the clearing of the old displaced house that to be disappearing by the end of the year?

What more can you or I do for the lovely beautiful day? Why should the lovely day spoil my plan or your plan? Fear not! I have the most extended holiday – four weeks leave, for I have not had any holiday throughout this year apart from having muscles/nerve flared up and bronchitis for a month due a wet season.

One of the big jobs that have been sorted and we will have to wait until the second week of January 2020. One tallest tree – gingko out in the cherries field for I called this field because five cherry trees bloomed light pink flowers each year. This gingko tree will be chopped down to the ground, for it is creeping toward the live power line that has 11kvolts. One most significant oak tree – one most extended branch will be prune hardback to the main trunk of the oak tree away from the power pole. Hooray, for I will not let Peter prune this tree. It is a dangerous job. Then the sunlight will be peeping through the future new garden, and a few fresh fruit trees in the soon-to-be disappeared house section. The third tree is a Euonymus, and it will be pruning down to the roof height. Who will be doing the tree jobs? Well, the WEL company arranged the arborists, and we will keep cut up woods for our fire heating and mulches for our gardens at no cost.

Mm, probably do the vegetables and herbs garden first because I need to make the compost bins made from old roof sheets of the displaced house. It is budget and recycled wise saver for any of you – the gardener who wishes not to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on the garden.

Oh, oh, what a fun way to do the gardening when you get stress or feeling annoying by a bad new or a bit of bother!

Ohh, what a sight of the rose garden blooming next to our bedroom window!

Must not get grumpy for the box hedges are not a complete set as Joseph the dog spoilt it by peeing few box hedges while Jazz ran inside the rose garden chasing rabbits. Mm, it is still looking nice and handy for me to walk inside the rose garden without lifting one leg over the box hedges.

Another day has gone past!  How flies fly out through the day into night!

Sigh, let rest and sleep through the night!

A time to think about Jesus and the family, especially God’s gift to everyone, including people with disabilities like myself!

I often get ‘pity’ or ‘feeling sorry’ for I am deaf by other people, BUT they do not actually realise Jesus gave me a gift – deaf among with other skills such as leadership, advocacy, mentoring, ability to do problem-solving etc. Whenever I meet new people, and I tell them that I am deaf. The new people gain some shock or disbelieve that I am not deaf because I speak if they do not sign to me.  I am happy that I was born deaf and got the ability to become independent from an early age to the present.  I do not need a cochlear implant or any other type of medical devices that make me hear better. Yes, I do have a pair of hearing aids, and I use for work, around the home and in the community. I know some of the people blame themselves or feeling guilty if their child or one of the members in the household when a child/person became a disability. Then they turn to look for a cure under medical/science. For example, my hearing partner – Peter suffered 28%-33% of burns during his bad experience with his ex-family in the past, and Peter also had two hip implants during his motorbike accident. He did not blame himself, and his past is no longer with him because his life is moving forward where Peter is happy and enjoying with our dogs and me in our home. Peter is on the journey by rebuilding the relationship with his son and his new family. That is a start from 2013 to present.

Everyone is different in their own lives! Not everyone is Christain, Muslim, even non-Christian or Atheists.

Wars and fighting around the world, people, including children, are starving, becoming more poverty, homeless and many other issues. The weather such as firestorm, tornado, heatwave, even a volcano erupted, play a significant impact on people’s lives and their homes, businesses where they lost everything.

We can not control Mother’s Nature in here, and we need to learn to live with this and change the way we do, e.g. chopping all the trees down and suddenly caused to have a landslip. We need to plant new trees to control the soils in the ground to prevent from landslip, for shelter/shades even to build a new home or furniture.

Reflected in 2019, it has been a rough start for anyone:

• bushfires in Australia, California, Europe
• the heatwave in Europe and Australia,
• violent storms in Asia, the volcano erupted recently in New Zealand
•  violent wars
• families and friends who lost their loved ones, including our family, lost an aunty.
•  the epidemic of measle in New Zealand, Samoa
•  the protesting over Brexit in the United Kingdom and Europe
• and many other issues around the world

Every early hour of the morning, I woke up to find a sunrise over our existing house and the new vegetable and fruit gardens. Count me blessings for I wonder what God provides a job for me to do before I start work. My faith is remaining strong and find a way to do the work for our home and garden, to assist people with disabilities even Deaf people, the people in the community whenever I go and visit, involve with many Advisory and Leadership groups.

Of course, some people often left me out or tend to forget about my turn to speak (sign)  during one of the Leadership meetings. Usually, not everyone took my advice that will work for them, sadly they choose somewhere else and often does not work or found a bit of problem.  I read one of the poems and here is one which is useful. It is called “Don’t Quit” by John Greenleaf Whittier.

Reflecting back to 2014, where we invited my extended families to join with us as a home welcoming/Christmas lunch. We moved on November 26th, 2014, and spent our first Christmas as a joint homeowner here in Eureka, Waikato. This family gathering was the first time, but nothing more, only two to four family members visited here since 2014 apart from the following Christmas Day 2015 to the current year. The most frequent disabled visitor, along with his brother who came up to visit us every January. This disabled person is Jacek, and he comes to visit us for lunch or an afternoon tea during the year.

The ‘quote from Lao Tzu’ block is sitting on my work table where I work from home. This quote helps me daily when I think of doing the work for other people with disAbilities, people in the community, doing Deaf history research, making enquires to the staff of the Government agencies, and keep in touch with family and friends rarely. In our past times, I do the gardening works while my partner Peter do the carpentry, odd gardening jobs such as ride-on mower, repairing odd jobs, etc. We tend to have plenty of time out from our works in the city of Hamilton and greater Waikato where Peter work and I travelled to Cambridge, Huntly and Te Awamutu.

Most of the times when I am out in the gardens and I noticed so much layout of the garden, by an additional garden in another section, flowers and the more I discovered odd flowers or bulbs lying deep in the ground. It gave me joy and relief that I do not need to buy flowers from the nurseries. Well, our property is 0.36ha – fields with plenty of tall trees, wider trees for shade even acted windbreak shelter against vegetable gardens and new fruit trees. Plenty of rooms for cricket, footy games and dog runs by chasing down many rabbits. Plenty of trees provide us with some shade during the long hot summer days. Yes, a lot of gardens has been changing and improving better with less weeding maintenance for me each year. One of my cousins was envious of us because she said we have orchards and large fields with gardens and trees. She visited with her dog rarely when she can in the past.

My favourites are:

• the autumn time where many leaves on the ground
• relaxing when the sunset shows beautiful colour displays through our kitchen window or in the courtyard where we sit in the cool evening.
• fruits and vegetables ready for making chutney, jams or eating plus to give to Jacek and my workplace as a food parcel to some of the Deaf people I visited.
• Spring times what a wonderful sight to see and to smell all the flowers blooming and showing display colours out in the fields.
• fire heating for long cold winter evening before we go to bed.

Yes, we do have our ups and downs such as dogs bought dead possums, hedgehog or rabbits inside the house as presents for us, love to make a mess while we were out working or shopping. In the past, we have had hot water cut by stupid tradesmen who were building extended rooms across the road from us plus the linemen discovered they cut the cable illegal. Peter tried to remove the old rusty thermostat out of the water cylinder. It was a tough job but we got there and still find no hot water. We did not have any hot water for five days and I used my workplace for a shower. The mouse chewed the phone line in the attic while our broadband internet was offline for a week. We lost our two dogs since we moved here. We demolished the old house where there were two houses on our property and we used woods from the old house for fire heating, bbq and of course Peter uses for his woodworks while our neighbour comes and use the good wood for his woodwork as well.

Surely I have one or two projects which I am hoping to complete within a year or a year and a half from this year. The last two years ago I battled my health problem which called radiculopathy degenerative disc disease on my right side. Each day I take easily and rest often when I need away from work in the city of Hamilton and greater Waikato.

Rarely, we do not get plenty of family visits here each year, just two or three visits a year.

We are privileged to found a home for us and to allow us to do something we want to do, have a healthy lifestyle, to grow fruits and vegetables from the garden and enjoy the breaks from works. We are no longer want to live in the city of Hamilton.

Here is a video clip – around 7 minutes. I did not include everything from our home and gardens. NOTE: Video can not be shared without permission.

“I want the United Nations to lead by example and invite you to join me in the moving decisively to achieve the goals of the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy.” This quote is from the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres

Each year, we celebrate a special day called International Day of Persons with disabilities, and the date is December 3rd. This year the theme is focused on – Promoting the participation of persons with disabilities and their leadership: taking action on the 2030 Development Agenda.

There are 15% of the world’s population or one billion people – persons with disabilities. About 80% of persons with disabilities live in developing countries.

There are three main key points of the planning for every workplace, Government and their agencies, organisation, and many other businesses.

Three Key Approaches Guide our Work.

The strategy is based on three overarching approaches to achieve disability inclusion: Twin-Track Approach, Intersectionality, and Coordination.

1. Twin-Track Approach: Disability is a cross-cutting issue and should be considered in all our work – First track. Targeted programming is also required – Second Track.

2. Intersectionality: Factors such as gender, age and location inform an individual’s experience. These factors also impact people with disabilities and their life experiences.

3. Coordination: A coherent and coordinated approach is essential to accelerate progress, build on each other’s work and achieve inclusion.

The Four core areas of responsibility are: –

Core area 1: Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Management.

Core Area 2: Inclusiveness

Core Area 3: Programming

Core Area 4: Organisational Culture

Here is the example of photos that showed many persons with disabilities in developing countries.

A displaced Iraqi man, who fled from Islamic State violence in Mosul, sits in a wheelchair at Baherka refugee camp in Erbil September 19, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ – Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT SOCIETY) – RTR46YAX

In New Zealand, we have a large number of disabled refugees, including citizenship persons with disabilities, because they are genuine refugees from their war-torn countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Colombia, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Kenya.

What about persons with D/deaf or Hard of Hearing even with other disability/ties? Yes, there are a small number of D/deaf persons and deaf with other disability/ties living here. However, there is no International Sign Language Interpreter or one or two ISL (International Sign Language) Interpreter available here; I am talking about Deaf refugees who have no English/ASL Sign language than their mother’s sign language such as Kenyan, Iraq or Colombia.

Is our accessibility improve or small improve around New Zealand or not?

In Hamilton, Waikato, Jean is currently involved with the Hamilton City Council and Access for All group, DPA (Disabled Persons Assembly), EGL (Enabling Good Lives) Waikato Leadership including Waikato District Health Board – Disability advisory group. In the last few years, we achieved the plan on a free accessibility concession for the bus fares for all disabled people, including youths in the Hamilton and part of the Waikato towns, by using the buses. Next year, in Hamilton City, there will be new recycled bins, and these bins are designed to have friendly accessible for all people with disabilities and older adults to take the rubbish out.

What about communication such as interpreters on television, warning text messages, or captioning showing on the video for social media/televisions? Because many Deaf people do not understand English better, and they struggle to understand what happened, even can not hear the warning announcements over the radio.

Jean recalled one day when she was driving to work from our rural home, which takes approximately 15-20 minutes. Jean checked her text messages and social media before leaving for work. Then she arrived at the intersection along Claudeland Bridge; Jean saw many people standing outside the shopping mall in front of her. Jean continues to drive toward the traffic lights by turning left, more people standing outside the shopping mall. Another turn left passed the second traffic lights, more people standing until she tried to enter the car park, for security officers were blocking her. Jean was told to park further away from the shopping mall. She found a car park and walked over to the Central Library, where there was a class. Police, security officers, and people everywhere – this baffled her and found it odd. Jean spoke to one of the librarians, and the staff responded to Jean that there was a bomb inside the shopping mall. Jean continued her way to the class and explained to them because her students were disabled and their staff as support workers. That day was the cricket match, and there were several bombs scares in other places in Hamilton several days ago. That was the reason for no visual or text message warning through social media. The social media journalists use radio for breaking new warnings, and they do not realise people who are D/deaf or Hard of Hearing like Jean. These D/deaf people can not hear the message over the radio, mobile voice mail, and other voice communication through social media. Now this problem is sorted and the Hamiton City Council set up a website through social media – Facebook for all people with disabilities including D/deaf people. The Civil Defense set up a warning message through the mobile app – Hazard Red Cross for nothing.

It is important to remember and to include every persons with disability/ties in your community when making the universal design, in the project such as disaster area, planning design in the park, shopping mall and many other things. The technologies are changing fast and these people with disability/ties are way behind advanced technologies.

Do you celebrate Christmas by believing Jesus the Christ was born on a Christmas Day and died for us on an Easter Day? Do you celebrate Christmas by buying gifts/present for your family or loved ones?

Many years ago, for I am a deaf Christain and often celebrated by having a family together, going to the church and opened presents each year. I went to my sister and her family’s place many times or my mother’s home many times. My hearing partner is not Christain BUT deep down in his heart – he is a right person with kind, caring, sharing, respectful and love to me. For the last 9 years (except 3 times visit my old homes), our current house is open to anyone to come and visit us anytime, but each Christmas Day we choose to stay home with our two faithful dogs and not one single-family or person came over to see us on a Christmas Day. That is fine for them. We visited my mother and brothers the next day or a couple days for lunch for my mother live at the beach – roughly 55 minutes one way. We do not buy a lot of presents for our family, including my partner’s son’s young family.

I noticed many people complaining about the cost of the foods, petrol, bills to pay, buying high or reasonable price of the gifts for their children everyday throughout each year. My workplace – it is a Social Service – Methodist City Action under the Methodist Orgainsation, and we have so many low-income persons, solo mother or dad and people with disabilities who come to their cookery class and Mind Gym class.

I work with people with disabilities, including Deaf/Hard of Hearing, advocator for these people and supporting them by doing budgeting and literacy.

Many people do not think about Jesus or The Third Country, where there are thousands of people suffering from poverty, starving – receiving no food aids, even medicines.

Each year I gave out our vegetables and fruits such as feijoas from our garden or jams and chutneys even a cake to the people I supported them and gave to the Christain Food Banks and schools nearby. This is the way Jesus taught me, including my partner who gave away the favourites apricot jams, plum/tomatoes sauces and tomatoes chutneys to his mates at work.

Tomorrow it is a special day – The Third World Day of the Poor.

Jesus was not a rich man, he does not have a job, even a home. Jesus, the Christ Saviour, was born on a Christmas Day to his poor parents living in a stable or nearby cave-house or an inn with a stable. The date 25th may not be accurate because it was not listed in the Bible. In the Early Roman calendar as a holiday 25th December honouring Jesus‘ birthday appears in from 336 A.D.

My faith with Jesus the Christ is always with me each day wherever I go, I work, and I sleep. I learnt a lot about Jesus, his story and his works by spreading his Gospels. We do not have a lot of amounts of money for we do pay the bills, mortgage, rates, petrol and basic essential foods such as butter, milk, BUT we have riches in our hearts all the times. We use our skills to do productive works such as gardening, DIY around the house, budgeting our incomes and teaching other people as mentors so they can learn from us. This is what Jesus telling and sharing his stories with other people. This is God’s work for us to do the work for other people.