AHAH Monthly Program Update - Australia (July 2021)

AUSTRALIA BUSHFIRE RELIEF UPDATE JULY 2021

TOTAL PROGRAM IMPACT

5

LIVES IMPACTED

3

VOLUNTEERS

5

VOLUNTEER DAYS

3

JOBS COMPLETED

Program Restart We’re very pleased to announce that following our COVID-19 operational suspension, we have now launched a bushfire relief program in The Bega Valley Shire, New South Wales, Australia.

Our previous program, which unfortunately could not open due to COVID-19, was established for Kangaroo Island, South Australia. However, in early 2021 when we returned to re-assess the needs, we found that recovery had advanced considerably on Kangaroo Island and the needs had significantly decreased. We simultaneously re-assessed areas of southern New South Wales, the most severely affected region, and identified that this was an area where we could still effectively assist impacted communities.

Thus, in partnership with the Bega Valley Shire Council (BVSC), Rotary Pambula, and Social Justice Advocates and Service, our program aims to support an urgent need for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) on landowners’ properties. This will ensure that survivors have basic WaSH on their properties, consisting of a water tank, a septic tank, a shed for water catchment, storage and an internal bathroom. The team has been welcomed by the community and looks forward to ensuring these basic living needs are met.

Current Activities Our small staff team has set up a base in Bermagui and has been busy visiting properties and completing site assessments with the BVSC Project Manager. Our first volunteers arrived on July 4 and work began on the Sanitation Project on July 6. To date, the team has supported one family with the construction of a shed for water catchment and commenced work erecting another. They’re also working one day a week at the Cobargo Community Garden, helping local day volunteers construct a shed, as well as supporting with other ad hoc work.

Photos: (top) a burnt out shed in Cobargo, (left) a map of the burn scar in Bega Valley, NSW.

Learn about our programs at

allhandsandhearts.org

Disaster Profile Bushfires began in Australia in August 2019 and spread throughout New South Wales (NSW) in early November, due to high temperatures and prolonged drought. In early December 2019, the fires spread to Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, and in early January 2020, to the Australian Capital Territory. The fires burned over 46 million acres across Australia, with approximately 3,102 homes destroyed, including over 2,300 homes in New South Wales. The cost of recovering from the bushfires is expected to exceed that of the 2009 Black Saturday fires, and the impact on the tourism and agricultural sectors, specifically, has been immense.

Our Work All Hands and Hearts launched an Australia Bushfire Relief Program to help the communities of New South Wales recover from the devastation of the widespread bushfires over a year ago. Volunteers will be building sheds and toilet flat-pack kits on the properties of landowners who still do not have sufficient water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) facilities. Working with our trained staff and alongside local community members, volunteers will also be doing internal cladding and fit-out, installing water tanks and completing various construction tasks around the properties.

About All Hands and Hearts We effectively and efficiently address the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters. We communicate directly with local leaders and community members and then deploy our unique model of engaging volunteers to enable direct impact, helping to build safer, more resilient schools, homes and infrastructure.

We have earned a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator for the seventh year in a row. This year only seven percent of rated nonprofits received this distinction for financial and operational efficiency.

Photos (top to bottom): a burnt home in Cobargo; a temporary home in Cobargo; Chris and Danielle, Volunteer Bushfire Recovery Coordinators.

Our Partners in Australia

info@allhandsandhearts.org