Vision Australia is currently celebrating the 40th anniversary of its Telelink program, which brings people who are blind or have low vision from across Australia together.
Each week, people who are blind or have low vision dial in to Telelink groups to discuss common interests and passions and connect with other who have a similar lived experience.
Telelink wouldn’t be possible without the efforts of the specially trained volunteer facilitators who coordinate and run each group and session.
One of these facilitators is Adalberto Alpi, who coordinates two Italian-speaking social Telelink groups every week.
Adalberto has had a long-standing involvement with Vision Australia, reaching back 15 years when he first started volunteering for the Vision Australia Library reading Italian-language magazines.
Around two years ago Adalberto took the plunge in to Telelink and hasn’t looked back. Each week he enjoys the opportunity to bring people together through a common language, help build long-lasting friendships and the sharing of positive experiences.
“I’ve been enjoying it because I can see the results of having people get together, even if it’s only for an hour a week. It’s like a group of friends sitting around the table having a drink or a cup of tea and talking about a bit of everything,” Adalberto said.
“I do look forward every week to just sitting on the phone with the ladies in the Italian group from all over Victoria and New South Wales. I always look forward to doing it, which is good for them probably but is also good for me, it makes me feel good,” he said.
Caption: Adalberto is a Telelink facilitator
While he enjoys being part of each group, Adalberto said Telelink facilitators do have important responsibilities, such as making sure the mood of the group is positive and something that people want to come back to.
“It’s the positivity that you leave the group with every week, and I know that every week when it’s about time to say goodbye until next week they’re all quite happy. We always make a conscious effort to talk about light, fun things in our life to make the meeting a joyful one.
“That way it’s a light program but I think it’s very important for people who are attending to have that. From what I can feel it’s pretty positive and all the participants are always very happy to have been part of it.”
If you or someone you know would like to get involved with Telelink, or if you would just like to know more, please phone Vision Australia on 1300 847 466 or email the Telelink team at [email protected]