Each year, the Southern Districts Rotary Club organises the Shine On Awards. These awards recognise and acknowledge service to the community by people with disabilities. In 2025, VisAbility clients Cynthia, Kenneth and Shane were celebrated for their achievements in the community. Read their award nominations below.
Cynthia
Cynthia participates in Art Studio Painting, Pottery and Music Appreciation groups in the Community Activity Centre.
Cynthia crossed over from working with people with disabilities to becoming a person with disability. She worked as an Art Therapist for folks with cerebral palsy, but about 2 years ago it was getting very difficult for her to “operate in the world in a useful way” (her words).
What Cynthia had guided many clients through (anger, fear, vulnerability, finding purpose), she was now experiencing herself. That didn’t mean the journey was easy for her. Like many people when they join the CAC, she struggled to return to things that she used to be very good at, such as art. She has been working on adapting her practice and accepting where she’s at, and she still has a fierce desire to help others.
She is a master of welcoming newcomers and making them feel included. She is particularly adept at talking to those who are new to their vision loss, and struggling with the challenge of not being able to do what they used to. She doesn’t falsely assure people that it’s all going to get better; she helps them to re-frame what they are experiencing. She says she can see the importance of narrative. She centres each person as the hero of their own journey – overcoming roadblocks, uncertainty, the descent into fear, etc. to emerge stronger. She says “everyone who comes here is a hero” (and genuinely means it).
Cynthia also very generously donates her art to VisAbility, to be sold at special events/ put up as raffle prizes/ grace the walls of our building and inspire others as to what is possible for artists with low vision.
Kenneth
Kenneth is a strong advocate for disability access and inclusion. He has always been involved in writing and giving talks to different community groups.
Kenneth does Pottery, Mosaics (and soon Woodwork) in the Community Activity Centre. He developed a podcast here at VisAbility, addressing issues concerning people with low/ no vision and how they can participate in community and use their talents. You can hear Kenneth’s voice on Just Why it Matters, covering sports, arts, beauty, assistive technology, personal safety, music, and more. (He has interviewed Ritchell Lim, who performs every year at the Shine On Awards and is also a VisAbility client). He also had his own weekly show, Seeing Without Eyes, on Vision Australia Radio for 3-4 years (which is broadcast nationally).
He has been invited twice as a guest lecturer at local universities to talk about disability, and has run workshops for some local city councils. He was in the Disability Reference Group for Cockburn council for 5 years, and has been on a task force for about a year. He’s given talks for corporate and non-profit organisations (including Apple), and also gives presentations and facilitates regular study groups at his church.
Kenneth has finished writing his first book (which he is currently discussing with publishers) and has started working on his second. He’s also working on a series of 12 books for children. (Where does he find the time?!)
Kenneth keeps everyone laughing at VisAbility, and also recently performed at the VisAbility Christmas party!
After Kenneth received his award, the incoming President of the Rotary Club who organise the Shine On Awards expressed an interest in having Kenneth speak at their upcoming gathering of all Rotary Clubs in WA!
Shane
You have never met a person with as much positivity as Shane.
Shane has Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA), which affects movement, balance and speech, as well as vision. His whole family had it; his mother and brother both passed away about 15 years ago. Shane does not let his diagnosis get in the way of his incredibly independent and adventurous spirit.
Shane has had an interest in IT since he was a kid. His first job (at 17 or 18) was in computer sciences for law firm Jackson McDonald in St George’s Terrace. Then he went to London when he was 21 to live there for a year, basically just because he could. He lived in a backpackers’ hostel for a month, waiting for payslip so he could rent a place. He was the only one going back to the hostel in a suit and tie! He then got himself a classic little shoebox flat in Kensington, and went on a few Contiki trips around Europe while he was there.
He volunteered at Young Care when they first started in Queensland (an innovative organisation that organises aspirational disability accommodation). He also lived on an avocado farm in Queensland for 5 years (he says it is possible to get sick of avocadoes!).
Now he is the CEO of a company he started 5 years ago, called Postal, that makes phone apps for people with low vision (buttons are big, it’s easy to use them, there’s good contrast, and they generally have good accessibility).
He’s very independent, and lives alone (with his cat, Finn). He says it can be challenging to live independently because he uses a wheelchair and is blind, and Finn is a trouble-maker! But being very organised helps; especially as he’s a busy man! Apart from VisAbility (where last year he won the award for best attendance!), and running his business, he also gets around a lot as he loves good food, and even more he loves music. Shane is a real audiophile! He goes to Northbridge every Friday to see live bands. Shane inspires everyone who knows him with his optimism and adventurousness.
Congratulations to Cynthia, Kenneth and Shane. And thank you to our generous hosts Phil Cordery and the team at Rotary Southern Districts. If you know someone living with low or no vision who also deserves an award, nominate them for a VisAbility Award today. VisAbility Award nominations close 30 April 2025.