Lou and I are feeling for those directly affected by Victoria’s fires this weekend.
For non-locals, the bushfires took place in several locations in our state, some only 60 kilometres away from the centre of Melbourne.
The death toll is at 130, and will inevitably climb further. Over 750 homes have been lost. Schools, libraries, businesses, whole communities and their histories gone. And there are fires still burning right now.
As a community, we have been asked to ‘dig deep’, and it seems that everyone is. We are donating whatever we can spare to Red Cross. Brad and Lou have registered to donate blood (I wish I was eligible). My department at work has got together and contacted some of the affected primary schools, offering to donate stationary. Our childcare centre is organising a collection of children’s clothes and food for one of the relief centres. Someone at Brad’s work is collecting towels and animal cages for injured wildlife.
Yet, we still feel very helpless. We can only imagine what it would be like to lose everything, let alone to have family members and friends missing.
I feel lucky to still have on my bookshelves some of the books I read when I was a little girl, and even some that my mum read when she was a little girl. For more than 750 households in our state, this – and so much more – will not be possible.
At the moment it seems that the most needed resource is money. In an effort to help the fundraising efforts, for the next while, Lou and I will be donating all profits from the sale of books in our store to Red Cross.
on ABC radio last night there was lots of talk of relief centres with kids playing with donated toys, but i was just thinking this morning about all the children left without books on their shelves, and even more so, primary schools without libraries. haven’t worked out what can be done yet but maybe down the track…