BlazeAid extends a helping hand to Daintree Village flood affected farmers
DISASTER RECOVERY
Help has arrived for Daintree Village and other local farmers affected by Cyclone Jasper's subsequent flooding with well known assistance group BlazeAid setting up camp at The Riverview Caravan Park in Daintree Village.
For as long as it takes BlazeAid's volunteers will help farmers with fencing and other repairs that may have occurred due to the major flooding in the Mossman and Daintree area.
Rising from the ashes
BlazeAid was born in 2009 by Kevin and Rhonda Butler after the Black Saturday fires.
The fires destroyed most of the Butler family's fencing on their property. With the help of their community, four months of work was completed in just a week thanks to 25 volunteers who came to the aid of the family thanks to an advert in the local paper.
From this BlazeAid was founded as a way of ‘paying it forward’ and giving back to the community.
Newsport spoke with BlazeAid CEO Melissa Jones to discuss the camp set up and what this means for farmers in our region.
“So far we have 50 properties registered for assistance," Ms Jones said. "We want to get everyone back on track as soon as possible.
“For most farmers, it costs around $18,000 per kilometre of fence that needs to be rebuilt."
This cost isn’t viable for many and with the help of donations, (many of which are from past volunteers or farmers helped by the group), BlazeAid can cover this cost.
“One lady who we know donates $20 every month out of her pension, it arrives in a cheque,” Ms Jones said of the amazingly kind, regular gesture.
The call for help
Ms Jones told Newsport it was Terry Maloney who made the call and got BlazeAid to the Daintree so quickly.
“He is a veteran BlazeAider and has assisted us before in the droughts a few years ago."
Next Steps
While temporary camp coordinator Janine Gerke has begun work in the area with some trusty volunteers by her side, the current weather restricts much work from being done on farms.
From the February 10 a permanent camp coordinator will arrive at the base camp in Daintree Village and further work will then begin.
But BlazeAid doesn’t come with an army. Many of their volunteers are older travellers who are in the area, but BlazeAid relies on local help too.
“A day a week, whatever you can add. No experience is required and it can be such a great feeling to help people," Ms Jones said.
If you want to Volunteer for BlazeAid, donate or even need help yourself visit https://blazeaid.com.au.
Support local journalism
If you’d like to support our journalists and independent journalism in the Douglas Shire please support Newsport by hitting the Support Us button on the top of the page.
Thank you!
Newsport thanks its advertising partners for their support in the delivery of daily community news to the Douglas Shire. Public interest journalism is a fundamental part of every community.
Got a news tip? Let us know! Send your news tips or submit a letter to the editor here.
* Comments are the opinions of readers and do not represent the views of Newsport, its staff or affiliates. Reader comments on Newsport are moderated before publication to promote valuable, civil, and healthy community debate. Visit our comment guidelines if your comment has not been approved for publication.