The inaugural LeadAbility for Women program culminated in style at a special graduation evening in Swan Hill last month to congratulate each of the nine amazing women participants and present them with a special graduation certificate recognising their achievement.

Held at the Anglican Function Centre in Swan Hill, the theme for the evening was shining stars with each of the nine participants hosting a table, and taking part in the program for the night including roles as MCs, speaking about their experiences, introducing the guest speaker and presenting gifts, drawing on their newly developing public speaking and confidence skills.

Special guest speaker at the graduation evening was Daphne Hommenga, a graduate of Leadership Plus, the statewide leadership program for people with disabilities, who spoke about her journey as a women with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and her volunteer work with MS Australia which includes face to face peer support work and helping those who are newly diagnosed to come to terms with their condition.

Daphne also spoke of her aim to improve the understanding and acceptance of people with disabilities in the wider community because everyone has something to offer.

Facilitated by Community Leadership Loddon Murray (CLLM) in conjunction with the Rural Women Leading Change Project, the RuralAccess Program and the Mallee Sports Assembly, LeadAbility for Women aimed to develop the participant’s individual skills, confidence, knowledge of local and regional issues, and networks of people within the region and beyond over a period of three months.

During this time, six program days were held across the participating Shires of Buloke, Gannawarra and Swan Hill Rural City during which the women participated in workshops on understanding themselves and others, public speaking, confidence, project management, governance and meeting procedure, and health and wellbeing.

They also heard from a range of guest speakers who shared their story of being women with a disability as well as a leader, and took part in a range of activities including a visit to the Wycheproof Men’s Shed and Op Shop.

A highlight of the program was a visit from the ABC 7.30 Report to film a story on the project and the opportunities it was presenting to the women involved where a number of the participants were interviewed.

Carmel Hogan from Wycheproof said it was a great program from which she had learnt a lot and was very proud of what she has achieved, sentiments echoed by Clare Steed from Kerang who felt that she was now much more confident when speaking in public, demonstrated during her role of welcoming everyone to the graduation evening.

Lisa Cummins from Lake Charm enjoyed meeting people and being able to relate with others who had similar experiences to her own while Maureen McMasters from Nyah West has been amazed by the number of organisations available to support people with disabilities once you know where to look.

For Ros Mangiameli from Woorinen, the friendships she had started were a highlight, and she hoped to use the skills she had gained through participating in LeadAbility to develop a grief and loss support group to help others going through similar experiences to herself

Jo Page from Birchip welcomed the opportunity to share her skills and experiences with the other women, and is now looking forward to being more active in her local community as a Meals-on-Wheels volunteer and the Birchip Community Garden project.

Maureen Hewitt from Swan Hill came into the program with a passion to improve public transport conditions for people with disabilities and now feels confident in being able to achieve this through the contacts she has made and the skills she has gained.

Raelene McNaughton from Wycheproof said the program broadened her horizons as to how others cope with their disabilities, and she has plans to participate in the Buloke Disability Health and Wellbeing committee as a community representative as well as continuing to advocate for herself and others regarding accessibility issues

Lorraine Taylor from Swan Hill summed up the thoughts of the group by saying “it has been a fantastic experience and I would recommend it to anyone”.

An integral part of LeadAbility for Women was a mentor program which saw each of the nine women assigned a mentor for the duration of the program to provide support both during program days and in between the fortnightly meetings.

The valuable role played by these mentors was also acknowledged on the evening with a special certificate presentation and a gift of appreciation.  The were Jo Glare (Woorinen), Maria Noble-Hayes, Delia Baber and Val Jeans (Swan Hill), Chris Sanders (Kerang), Lorraine Learmonth (Cohuna), Paula Yorston (Buckrabanyule), Rhonda Allan (Wycheproof), Ellen White (Towanninie) and Vivienne Collins (Birchip).