Strong Voices

It’s hard to be patient when there’s a lot of talk about improving lives for people with intellectual disabilities, but the better times still feel out of reach.

Taimahi Trust has come a long way from a coffee cart with four guys on the side of the road to a group of micro-enterprises providing great food and eco-products to Whangārei and beyond.

On a summer day in January, Caitlin Fleming built a large sandcastle on the beach in the remote Te Kainga Bay in Queen Charlotte Sound. She sat in it, looked out across the sea and told a story – “it’s about a beautiful Queen Elizabeth”.

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This summer Trudy and Paul Masters are expecting their first banana harvest from their rural block near Whangārei. But there is more at stake for the couple than wanting to join Northland’s recent enthusiasm for growing the fruit.

Colin Bailey was in the first New Zealand team to compete in the Special Olympics. He won bronze in the freestyle event at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1983.

Tayla Sloot sees a lot from her wheelchair. And she knows that her disability is a barrier that prevents people getting to know her.

‘Stand Tall’ is a new app designed to dodge those tricky money situations – like getting to the end of the week and finding there’s no cash left for dinner.

There’s a huge gap at Hirepool in Lower Hutt where Colin Bailey used to work. He’s retired from the Hutt Road branch after more than 30 years on the job.

Rhonda and Rex started their road trip early on a crisp May morning, their car loaded with gifts for school libraries.

'Poppy' reached the big screen in May and struck a chord with young women refusing to be defined by their disabilities. Ella Davenport from Lower Hutt and Ava Saba from Gladstone reviewed the movie.