SIX years ago, Anthony Kralik didn't have much to be cheerful about.o

His fiance had no job and nothing to do. He has Friedreich's Ataxia, a disease that damages the nervous system.

"It had messed up my education so I thought I wasn't qualified to do anything," he said.

But one day a flyer about an organisation called Enfield Disability Action dropped onto his doormat. He went along to have a chat and began volunteering in EDA's office doing gereral administration work for the Disability Information and Advice Project.

Anthony, 30, uses a wheelchair and he went on to volunteer with an EDA project which involved checking out access to public buildings in Enfield for people with disabilities.

''I also got involved with Project Streetwise, which looks at access in schools and promotes disability awareness among schoolkids,'' he said.

Wanting to set up some theatre workshops to accompany his work in schools, he started volunteering with a community arts charity called Artstart and Face Front, based in Edmonton Green.

''I am really into writing, directing and performing. We have put on a community play at Millfield theatre, and we have done street theatre and other work in schools,'' he said.

He has helped develop Face Front's latest production and although he doesn't perform in it, one of the main characters is, he says; ''A guy in a wheel-chair who is a bit ugly, likes loud rock music and has two cats just like me, in fact."

The experience, knowledge and confidence and new friends Anthony has gained from volunteering have turned his life around. ''Before I started volunteering, I was at such a low ebb. If someone had asked me if I wanted to be on a board of directors, I would have said there's no way I could do that. I didn't have the confidence.

Yet Anthony is now on the management committees of two voluntary organisations Enfield Disability Action and ArtStart and Face Front. He also helps to lead the Enfield Wheelchair Users Forum. He chairs meetings, makes decisions and helps to shape the directions of the organisation. Most of his week is taken up with his various voluntary activities.

' Rather than wasting my time doing nothing, I have become a much more active person. Volunteering keeps me stimulated and I know I am contributing,'' he says.

Useful contact numbers are:

Enfield Disability Action: 8373 6229

Enfield Wheelchair Users Forum: 8373 6227

ArtStart- Face Front: 8373 1733