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WAACIS Annual Report for 2000 / 2001:On The Front Cover
E-powering disabled people by providing internet tuition at home
WAACIS Aims and Objectives We provide training, encouragement and support for physically disabled people and those with sensory impairments on the use of the Internet in their own homes at affordable cost.
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Chairman's Report: This is the first full year of the restructured WAACIS using freelance tutors. The scheme has proved to be a great success. We have recruited 37 tutors now working across London and they carried 801 tutorials and assessments in the year. This is great achievement and I want to thank them for their dedication and hard work. We have made a good start but it is only a start. There is a long way to go. The WAACIS Project is in its infancy and our success represents only a tiny fraction of the work which needs to be done. Surprisingly, much our biggest problem is promoting the availability of the WAACIS service to the disabled population. No central lists are available and this means we have to work through other organisations such as Local Authorities and Charities who, naturally, have their own agendas. Progress is slow, expensive and often frustrating. This is where we will be concentrating our efforts next year and our target is to achieve a 50% increase in tutorials and assessments given. I want to thank the WAACIS staff and my fellow Trustees for their help, support and enthusiasm in achieving our aims for the Project. Finally, we must all express our sincere thanks and gratitude to the Charitable Trusts, Companies and individuals whose generous financial donations and whose confidence in the Project has made our work possible. Anthony Wigram New faces on Board of Trustees The two new faces joining the WAACIS Board of Trustees are Herschel Post and Suki Hemming. Mr Post, who becomes Honorary Treasurer, is currently the International Managing Director of Business Development of Christie's International plc, and has been Chief Executive Officer of Coutts & Company UK. Mrs Hemming is the Director of the British Museum Development Trust and was previously the Head of Fundraising at the National Trust. Tracy Pernice continues as Secretary to the Board and Sally Wigram remains a Trustee.
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New computer deal for Paddington WAACIS has been successful with a bid for funding from the New Life for Paddington SRB area in order to encourage local people to use the Internet to access information about local services and be informed about what is happening in the Paddington area. The award of £30,000 means that 17 local people will get both a computer and training in how to use the Internet. WAACIS is working closely with Paul Crooks, of the Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea Health Authority, and Glynnis Joffe, of Westminster City Council. AbilityNet's Nuala Davies is assisting in the provision of the computers themselves and Disabled Living Foundation's Nick Pelling is advising the project.
Skills pool added to by tutor training To make the WAACIS course accessible to students with sensory impairments our tutors have been busy learning new skills. We have set up internal study groups to train our tutors to teach aurally and visually impaired people. WAACIS tutor Patricia Webb is teaching on a one-to-one basis nine other tutors HAL and Jaws software, which enable visually impaired persons to navigate the Internet. Eleven tutors participated in a Deaf Awareness training weekend organised by WAACIS tutor Cliff Doherty, in conjunction with Christine Wright, and held on the weekend of 28th/29th April 2001.
Tutorials pass the one-thousandth landmark Tutorial number 9 was a personal achievement for Johanna Cheetham, but for WAACIS it was a substantial landmark - tutorial number 1000. Johanna commented: "The WAACIS course has helped me to keep in contact with my family, search for music and assist the Sweet Success charity in providing support for those who have had or are about to have a Pancreas transplants." Her tutor Patricia Webb said: "Jo has been a pleasure to teach and has worked very hard at learning JAWS software, which requires a degree of dedication to master because the student has to remember all the keyboard shortcuts." Centre Pages
Our tutors are working all over London: From Hillingdon to Barking, from Enfield to Croydon, there's a WAACIS tutor near you. WAACIS has established a network of 34 tutors covering the 32 London boroughs and providing specialist tuition for physically disabled people and those with sensory impairments. The course is geared towards getting people started on the Internet and the tutorials cover sending and receiving emails, on-line shopping, and subscribing to newsgroups. Apart from the basics there is no set content, since the WAACIS philosophy is one that gives the tutor the freedom to consult with the student as to what they want to get out of the course and provide tuition to achieve that. Anybody interested in becoming a tutor can download an application form the WAACIS website, or contact the office on 020 7730 7766 for a copy.
What do the Tutors think about it all:
And our thanks go to all our tutors: Without the contribution of the tutors then WAACIS simply couldn't exist. So, our thanks go to:
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Additions to the WAACIS team: Two new members of staff have been appointed. These are Martin Ball as Development Officer and Avril Hanning as Administrator. Martin will be tackling the tough challenge of increasing student numbers by raising awareness about the WAACIS course amongst London's disability organisations and building good working relationships with Borough Disability Services Teams. Avril will be responsible for liasing with students and tutors to ensure the smooth running of the tuition system. In addition, WAACIS can also rely upon Sarah Channon to help out in times of greatest need. WAACIS would also like to say goodbye and thank you to former administrator Anastasia Burke.
Our own presence on the WWW: As an Internet training organisation our website is central to our activity. Visitors can find information about holidays, news on WAACIS developments, download applications forms for becoming a student or tutor, plus links to many other places of interest to disabled people. Our thanks go to Webmaster Chris Baker for his continuing valuable work. He comments: "We are building up the website as a respected resource for disabled people on the Internet."
WAACIS - the vital statistics:
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Financial report: Figures showing healthy state of WAACIS finances. Advisers: Auditors: Solicitors: Financial backing for WAACIS Internet vision: We are extremely grateful for the generous support from the following organisations:
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At home tuition:
Can you help WAACIS?: The past year has been a great success for WAACIS, but we could be doing even better and training even more students about the Internet. As you have seen on the previous pages we have the tutors and the funding is in place. What we now require are more students. The big problem WAACIS has is in accessing the disabled community and raising awareness about our service. We know from experience that direct mailings result in the greatest number of applications, but we do not have the home addresses of disabled people and therefore have to rely on persuading those who do to distribute information about WAACIS. Unfortunately, they are inhibited by the Data Protection Act. You can help too. If you know of anybody - a relative, a friend, a colleague, or a neighbour - who you believe might benefit from the WAACIS service please get in touch with us. If you would like a copy of our 2000 / 2001 Annual Report, please contact the U Can Do I.T. office on Tel / Minicom 020 7730 7766 or e-mail us on info@ucandoit.org.uk |
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