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An Introduction to The Capability Dialogues from the community writer
This collection has developed out of many journeys. Journeys like those regularly taken by Cooinda Co-ordinator Sue Pringle to the Association for Children with a Disability's Regional Network of Parent Support Co-ordinators in Melbourne. It was at one of these meetings that Sue approached me to develop a community writing project with Cooinda.
A series of virtual journeys followed as Sue and I used email to share ideas and write a funding submission to the Community Cultural Development Board of the Australia Council for the Arts.
Following the success of the application, I travelled to Albury/Wodonga with my partner and creative collaborator, Ron Fleckner, and our two children, Julian and Memphis, to consult with Cooinda members. Our discussions covered many journeys of discovery.
First was the discovery of disability and feelings of fear, anxiety, loss and grief. Emerging from that came self-discovery, not necessarily positive, but always holding the seeds of future growth. Along came the discovery of community support for people with disabilities and their families. Eventually came the discovery of Cooinda, a self help community that supports people with disabilities and their families to discover amazing capability to be productive and enjoy life while helping each other develop.
From these discoveries grew many stories, each of them a journey in itself. Now it is the turn of the reader to take a walk in Cooinda shoes as you make your way through The Capability Dialogues.
Thea Calzoni
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