On James' Desk | Education

On James' Desk

Phone: +61 414 696 455

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Businesses
• Education
• Tutor/teacher

24.01.2022 Amazing kind anonymous donor put in $150 towards the Vests for Deaf Javanese project. This is incredibly generous, as all other donors have been too. I have per...sonally topped up each donation with $5 each extra each time. We now have reached $700! Only $800 more to reach the $1500 target. For those new to this fundraising drive, this is for Deaf Javanese to have 100 vests custom made for them to wear when volunteering on the front line distributing food and essentials and helping in times of natural disasters. On top of this, they are struggling with the enormous personal and economic impact of Covid. I will add three videos again for the benefit of people to understand what this project is all about. One video is David Wijaya signing in BISENDO (Indonesian Sign) and me interpreting it. The other video is Deaf Javanese hard at work delivering essentials. If you can help, donate no matter how small, To: James D. Kerwin BSB: 032119 ACC: 219401 Reference: vests James for David.

23.01.2022 UPDATE: We now have reached $800! Thanks to another anonymous donor today who just donated $100.... Only $700 more to reach the $1500 target. For those new to this fundraising drive, this is for Deaf Javanese to have 100 vests custom made for them to wear when volunteering on the front line distributing food and essentials and helping in times of natural disasters. On top of this, they are struggling with the enormous personal and economic impact of Covid. I will add three videos again for the benefit of people to understand what this project is all about. One video is David Wijaya signing in BISENDO (Indonesian Sign) and me interpreting it. The other video is Deaf Javanese hard at work delivering essentials. If you can help, donate no matter how small, To: James D. Kerwin BSB: 032119 ACC: 219401 Reference: vests James for David.

21.01.2022 TRANSCRIPT: This is a message to all viewers and clients of On James’ Desk. In the last two years, I have provided many private tutorials both on Skype and face to face to clients all over Australia. Some have been regular clients and others have been clients for a brief time.... I need to let you know that next year, my teaching job at the school where I teach will increase to full time. It will demand all my attention and time as I will need to a lot of planning outside school hours, at night time, and on weekends and yes, even on holidays. I will not have any time for private tutorials anymore. I am grateful for all your support in the last two years and utilising my tutoring services. I will be doing some tutorials this week and then wind up for Christmas and the New Year. Then I will be going away for a real holiday. I begin my full time job on the 23rd January. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me. Happy holidays!

19.01.2022 This is a video of Risa. Thanks Wahyu Balideafguide for filming, translating and captaining. Excellent work! It is wonderful many donations are flowing in alrea...dy. It is important we reach the target of $4500 because that will mean ALL the 215 Deaf Balinese in extreme hardship get food, rather than just a few of them. To donate please go to this link To help please go to: https://gf.me/u/yf6zxz James

16.01.2022 If you need face masks, I heaps of them with me. Made from Javanese motifs. Better safe then sorry.

16.01.2022 Deaf Balinese sign Thank you sponsor Australia for the Food for Deaf Balinese Community project. In exactly two weeks, 120 kind donors (mostly Deaf Australians and a few hearing who are associated with Deaf) raised $5225! Today is the first of three days they will be delivering food packages. Today, it was for Deaf living in the Denpasar area. Tomorrow deliveries will be made to Tabanan and on Tuesday to North Bali to the Deaf Village. 215 Deaf Balinese will receive packa...ges that will hopefully sustain them for six weeks. A huge thanks to all who donated and also the helpers in the ground over in Bali who made this a successful reality. James (organiser)

14.01.2022 I have very good news! We have reached the target of $1500 (15 million rupiah) for the Vests for Deaf Javanese project. Thank you to the generous donors who hel...ped me reach this target. Lisa Mills $200 Sherry Cox $90 Megan Telford $50 Elizabeth Begley $25 Lynda Bergstrom $20 Elspeth Liliburne $150 Myself James Kerwin $240 And ten other donors who want to remain anonymous. Their donations ranged from $25 to $150. Thank you. You know who you are. It was not an easy fundraising drive. The hardest one I have done. I received some negative comments which was very dispiriting. I choose to ignore my detractors and focus on the positive things and the generosity of the kind donors. One thing I learnt and to my amazement and inspiration - the Gerakatin (Deaf volunteers) in Indonesia go above and beyond the deaf bubble - they volunteer to the wider community and ask nothing in return. They are truly amazing and we can learn a lot from their Deaf community. Dare I say this, our Deaf community and a lot of other Deaf communities seem to be only interested in volunteering for their own community or not much volunteer activity outside their own community bubble but these Deaf Indonesians go out to the frontline to help. This is why the vests are so useful for them. They are able to store essentials on them and a means of identification. In fact, just today, a group of Gerakatin are responding to help the latest landslide disaster. Here is a photo of them ready to go. I have praise for them and thanks David Wijaya for your inspiration. He will keep us informed by photos of the vests being made possible by your donations.

13.01.2022 GREAT NEWS UPDATE! Vests for Deaf Javanese Project: Thanks to two kind donors, one anonymous donor for $50 and Vicki Layton with an anonymous amount and I perso...nally topped up the difference to make it now $1000! Only $500 more to reach the target of $1500. This is for Deaf Javanese to have 100 vests custom made for them to wear when volunteering on the front line distributing food and essentials and helping in times of natural disasters. On top of this, they are struggling with the enormous personal and economic impact of Covid. In one month (January 2021) David lost seven deaf friends (five to COVID, one to cancer and one to suicide). Extremely distressing times yet David and many of the Gerakatin (Deaf community) still go out to volunteer to help. Here are some very recent photos of Deaf Javanese on the frontline helping out and distributing masks. If you can help, donate no matter how small. You do not need to donate large amounts if you cannot. If we all do without that cup of take away coffee today or tomorrow, just pop in $5 and it will all add up quickly. To: James D. Kerwin BSB: 032119 ACC: 219401 Reference: vests In return, you will see photos of the project getting underway so you see what your donations have done to make a huge difference. James for David.

13.01.2022 This is excellent!

12.01.2022 To hearing people who have deaf family members, I want to strongly encourage you to accept requests from your deaf family members when they ask for an interpreter at family gatherings. For us Deaf people, communication at family gatherings can be stressful, frustrating and upsetting. Not all family members may be able to sign or very well. ... Yesterday, I had a professional NAATI accredited interpreter to join a simple family lunch. I was blown away at how much I have missed out over the years. Having full 100% access to ease of communication, zero stress and zero frustration made the family gathering a sheer joy. For the first time in my life, I was able to see how my family members think, feel and express themselves more deeply because it was conveyed to me fluently in sign. Likewise, when I signed, they looked at me as though they were seeing or listening to the real me! We are very fortunate in Australia to have NDIS. Deaf people who list Improving family relationships as one of their goals can have access to professional Auslan interpreters to interpret at family events. Sadly, I have been told by some Deaf people that their own families have shooed down the idea of having an interpreter at family gatherings. For what reason? Are you concerned about privacy? Professional interpreters practice confidentiality and will not leak out information nor are they judgemental. They are there to interpret. Some may think we don’t need it. Think again. You may think you don’t need it but your deaf family member clearly sees the need for it. They feel left out, upset, frustrated and stressed to the limit. Christmas time is the most stressful times for Deaf people in hearing families? Why? Poor communication. I have begun using professional Auslan interpreters, paid from my NDIS, for family gatherings. The feedback from my own family has been outstandingly positive! My own relationships with my family members has improved already from access to communication. Please respect your Deaf family members wishes and requests. They want to be included in communication with you as a family. It costs you nothing if your deaf family member has a NDIS plan. Go for it! James

10.01.2022 These videos were done quite some ago (pre-Corona times). You may wish to revisit these or watch them for the first time. They may be of some use for your learning or practice. They are a mixture of Auslan comphrension and school learning.... Feel free to share this. Go to On James’ Desk and scroll down the pages to see old videos. Stay safe, James

09.01.2022 I have a lot of Javanese motif cloth face masks in stock made by David Wijaya. Small, medium and large sizes. $10 each. If you buy five you get one free. I also have motif placemats and cushion covers in stock, $15 each. Contact me if interested. Postage add $5. If on the Gold Coast, we can meet for delivery / pick up.

09.01.2022 I have set up a campaign to help the Deaf community in Bali, who are struggling for access to food. Most of them have lost their jobs and no sources of income left for them due to the impact of Covid on their economy. If you feel you can help in any small way, it would really help them ride this out. There is more information on the link below.... Sincerely, James

08.01.2022 Good morning. I am worried about people who live in the south of Australia. Fires all over NSW and VIC. People who are trying to evacuate, driving on highways or tapped in communities. I hope you are all alright? I look at all the names on my OJD list and hope every one is alright? If you are at risk please write on the comments and if you know someone who may need help and you are geographically near them please do so. I pray.

07.01.2022 We are steadily reaching goals for the Vests for Deaf Javanese project. Thanks to another kind donor who wants to remain anonymous for $50 yesterday. It is ver...y difficult for David and his people in Indonesia right now. They are also dealing with members of their own Deaf community passing away from the insidious virus Covid. All around them, there are natural disasters going on. These vests are for the deaf volunteers to wear on the frontline in natural disasters. Your help will help them. James D. Kerwin BSB: 032119 ACC: 219401 Reference: vests James for David Wijaya

07.01.2022 Thanks to two more kind donors: Anonymous: $50 Lynda Bergstrom: $20... And I personally put in $20 to the fund. We now have $500! Only $1000 more to go. We can do it! To donate to the Vests for Deaf Javanese project: James D. Kerwin BSB: 032119 ACC: 219401 To know more about this project, look to my earlier vlogs about this. James

04.01.2022 Merry Christmas to all my clients, readers and viewers who have supported me in the last two years of On James’ Desk. Next year, I teach full time at a school. I can still be contacted for any special requests once in a while.... Happy holidays from James and his two dogs, Mandy and Anabel.

04.01.2022 Coffee time with me! Discussion points. 1) PAH sign on side of forehead and 2) semantics of the word / sign DRINK. James

04.01.2022 Update: We are almost there! We have now raised $3945! Just a little over $500 is needed to reach the target of $4500. Can you help? James