Jacob

Jacob: Hi my name is Jacob inaudible (last name in language), I’m from Bathurst Island, Wurrumiyanga, last couple of months I’ve been struggling, humbugging you know. People inaudible, problem too, a lot of violence in this community. But yeah, too much humbug.

Tammy: What’s your disability?

Jacob: My disability is no going to clubs, I don’t drink in clubs. Sometimes I’m feeling sick when I don’t take my tablet, sometimes I fall down, yeah.

Tammy: What you got to take tablet for?

Jacob: Tablet for my headaches.

Translator: Epilepsy.

Jacob: Yeah, epilepsy. Every morning I take tablet, drink lots of water too. Sometimes I do a little bit of work, then go home. Sitting down with my family, talk to them, go out with my friends, yeah. But every afternoon I go to the airport, go for a walk, exercise ya know. From forest street, straight to airport, maybe six o’clock. But I don’t drink at clubs. Inaudible. Till what happened to my leg.

Tammy: What happened to your leg?

Jacob: 2001, climbing an electric pole.

Tammy: And what happened?

Jacob: I fall down. Start drinking at 18, 19, 20…but I starting to give up now. No more drinking in the club, nah.

Tammy: You feel better?

Jacob: Feeling better yeah, I have up ya know, no more ID. Sometimes I walk down to the hospital, have a check-up, yeah. Full day, come back in the afternoon.

Tammy: And who pays for that?

Jacob: Clinic mob, them clinics, they pay for me.

Tammy: Yep.

Jacob: I go in the morning, come back in the afternoon. But no money, no money.

Tammy: Yep.

Jacob: But sometimes I have family there too. They’re in the hospital. They ask me “you got money,” money for your food, you wanna buy tucker. Family there.

Tammy: So you get family support for your meals and that.

Jacob: Yeah. They give me money, so I can go and buy some food, sitting down and talking to them.

Tammy: What works really good for you? Like with your disability, tells us what works really good for you.

Jacob: What works good for me, is number one no more humbugging. Fighting you know. Men’s program will do that you know.

Tammy: Yeah, tell us about that.

Jacob: Yeah, I do that every Monday. Telling our stories, how you feel, if you feel bad or good, like that ya know every Monday. I do that with all them young teenagers. Yeah, I just tell them my stories. When I was drinking I was an idiot, but now I’ve stopped I’m feeling alright. Feeling happy now. No grog, nothing.

Tammy: Yeah. What are some things that make it hard for you with your disability? Do you think about some things that you wanna do that you can’t do? And you think oh I need some support to do that? Are there things like that make it hard, like struggle?

Jacob: Yeah sometimes, sometimes I go for walk…

Tammy: Tell us some of the things you struggle with.

Jacob: Well, anything you know, sometimes when I feel pain. Like when I was trying to give them a call ya know, ring clinic.

Tammy: Ring em up?

Jacob: Ring em up, yeah. But no, no.

Tammy: They don’t come to you?

Jacob: No, they don’t come to me.

Tammy: And you’re in too much pain to move?

Jacob: Yeah, too much pain. But sometimes I pray too. Yeah, a lot of praying.

Tammy: So Christianity?

Jacob: Yeah, Christianity. Yeah, pray. Every time when I walk I sing hymn songs too, holy script.

Tammy: Oh yeah. Gospel songs, yeah.

Jacob: Yeah, my song is Holy Spirit My Friend.

Tammy: Yeah. So the Men’s Shed is a really good thing in your life at the moment? You like going to the Men’s Shed and sharing your stories?

Jacob: Yeah I like going down the Men’s Shed.

Tammy: Do you think about, do you look around the community and think I’d like to do this, or I’d like to do that, but there’s no support for you to do it?

Jacob: Nah, nah.

Tammy: Nothing? What would those things be that you like to do but can’t do?

Jacob: Sometimes I’d like to go out bush and go camping you know. Get away from this community and go camping, staying there for what, for one month, four weeks, yeah.

Tammy: And what would you do if you went camping?

Jacob: Camping I’d get some food, traps, anything, couple snakes, possums. But no car, no car. Especially boat too, no boat. My brother, he got a lotta money, got a big mob car and boat but he didn’t take us, didn’t take us hunting. Nothing.

Tammy: But that’s something that you’d like to do aye?

Jacob: Yeah, yeah. But it’s up to me, when I feel like you know, go to the shop and buy some fisher hook and line and sinker you know, come down here and go fishing yeah.

Tammy: Yep.

Jacob: But no money, no money. No anything.

Tammy: You think about information, you know. So you know the government, that you can go Centrelink and get information about your payments aye?

Jacob: Mm.

Tammy: Um, if there was information about this NDIS, National Disability Insurance Scheme, that’s there to help people like you, what would be a good way to get information about them or to learn about what they do? Or how they could help you. What’s the best way?

Jacob: Best way is trying to be kind you know, talk to them.

Tammy: So face-to-face, you’d like them to come face-to-face?

Jacob: Yeah face-to-face, yeah.

Tammy: And if they’re not here all the time, do you use things like technology?

Jacob: Nah, nah, computer.

Tammy: You got a computer?

Jacob: Nah, nah.

Tammy: You go and use computer at other places?

Jacob: Yeah, like in Centrelink.

Tammy: Yeah. So that’s a good way for you to go to a computer?

Jacob: Yeah.

Tammy: And learn, get information about NDIS?

Jacob: Yeah, yeah.

Tammy: And with that, tell us do you read English, do you read and write English well?

Jacob: Not really, not really.

Tammy: So would you prefer language?

Jacob: Yeah, yeah. Language yeah.

Tammy: Say it back in the camera, say “I’d like to get information about the NDIS, but hear it in my own language.” Say something like that.

Jacob: NDIS, I wanna get information but…

Tammy: Don’t worry about NDIS, just say something like “We need to hear information in our own language.”

Jacob: We need to hear your information in language, when we are on this island community. So, I just wanna try my best to learn, learn about language and get better information.

Tammy: And tell us, would you like to read it, or would you like to hear and see it, in videos and- do you like to see real people telling you this information? Like click on a video, or click on a link that interprets it in your language?

Jacob: Mm, yeah, yeah. I wanna do it computer, or…listening. Telling me about anything, my stories. And my culture too. And about culture, all them activities you know. In the bush, I wanna get away from this community, training day in the bush, trainings, culture. Yeah get away from here, I just wanna learn in the bush.

Tammy: And so this information needs to come from language, Tiwi language?

Jacob: Mm. This information needs to come from Tiwi language, culture.

Tammy: Say “so I can understand better.”

Jacob: So I can understand better. Tiwi language.

Tammy: Do you ever turn on the TV and see something people do in the cities and think “I’d like to do that one”?

Jacob: Yeah, yeah.

Tammy: What sort of things do you like to do? What about football games, do you like football games?

Jacob: Football games yeah.

Tammy: Tell us!

Jacob: Yeah I like to go to Darwin to watch my team, the Waratahs. Red and white, footy yeah. But no money, no money to go there. Family encourage me, no, there’s no one.

Tammy: Tell em why you don’t have money, because you can’t work because you have disability. Say “I can’t work because I’ve got disability.”

Jacob: Yeah I can’t work because I’ve got disability, no money, no anything, no support, all my family and friends, ya know all my uncles. No one supports me because I’m feeling sick. I’m on doctor’s medications.

Tammy: Too good.

Jacob: But I’m trying my best, I’m trying but…not really. I just wanna help you know, to get strong. I’m trying my best, I need someone to help me, keep me strong, so I’m strong myself. Because I wanna be strong, so I can get away from this community.