Here's How You Can Help Victims Of Australia's Bushfire Crisis
Australia is experiencing one of its worst fire seasons in history. Here's how you can help the victims of the blaze from animals, families to firefighters
If you've been on social media recently, you may have seen visuals of kangaroos frantically hopping away from a forest of fire, or koalas with singed fur being swaddled up in blankets by rescuers. Images and videos have only started making their rounds on the Internet in recent months, but the wildfires began as early as July 2019.
While some hope has come upon Australia in the form of storms, the fires have inflicted heavy damage on the country. As of now, they have resulted in 28 human lives lost, more than 10 million hectares of land destroyed and as many as a billion animals are feared dead. They could also have left lasting effects on the ecosystem. This means bringing threatened species down to extinction, and an irreversible ecological collapse.
The harm that has been brought upon by the bushfires is irreversible. However, we can still do our part by helping those who've lost their homes (both animals and humans). Here are some ways you can help Australia in one of its toughest fire crises in recent years.
Thousands of people had to leave their homes behind to seek refuge on a beach for fear that the fires might wipe out most of their towns. This already is the reality for Balmoral and Batlow, which was said to be non-defendable by the NSW Rural Fire Service. The fires show no signs of stopping.
The Singapore Red Cross has put up a public appeal for donations and pledged $50,000 in humanitarian aid to support affected communities. Donations are for both immediate response and recovery efforts over time by the Australian Red Cross, which has been providing support to evacuees in 35 evacuation and recovery centres in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
Click here to donate to the Singapore Red Cross.
You can also make a donation to the Australian Red Cross directly here.
With the bushfires ravaging the country, displaced families are forced to worry about both their present and their future. The destruction means the loss of homes, properties, livelihoods that could impact victims long after the fires; but more immediately, those who were urged to evacuate may not even have necessities or belongings with them.
St Vincent de Paul Society has launched Vinnies Bushfire Appeal to help with those needs with figures ranging from $50, which can provide food for an affected family, to $1,100, which can help victims set up again with bedding, furniture and appliances. You can also enter your own amount and choose between a one-time or monthly donation.
Click here to donate.
With the severity of the situation, other countries are now deploying their own firefighters to help Australia, including Singapore, Malaysia, and New Zealand.
Besides donating to help the victims of the fires, you can also make donations to relief efforts and those on the frontline. The Salvation Army is collecting funds to support firefighters, emergency workers and also evacuees and communities with essentials on the ground.
Click here to donate.
Australia holds some of the world’s most unique native animals. Many of these species were listed as endangered before, but may be on the brink of extinction following the fire. These include Brush-tailed Rock Wallabies, Southern Corroboree Frogs, Western Ground Parrots and many more.
To help the animal population, you can donate to WIRES, an Australian wildlife rescue non-profit. They will be needing donations due to having to provide for the surviving animals with already limited resources.
Click here to donate.
Kangaroo Island is regarded as one of Australia’s most important wildlife sanctuaries. Out of 35,000 koalas killed by the Australian bushfires, 25,000 of the deaths were from the island – with more than half its land destroyed by the fire. An estimated 80 per cent of the koalas’ habitat is destroyed.
Animals Australia Federation is gathering donations to provide immediate support to expert wildlife vets to travel to affected areas. They will be rescuing animals that are injured or have lost their homes and would require donations to assist the animals in need. You can also help by making donations to Animal Rescue Collective, who are collecting funds and even sewing materials to make pouches for orphaned animals.
Click here to donate to Animals Australia Federation.
Find out more about Animal Rescue Collective's craft supply and other donations here.
Two Australian volunteer firefighters were killed when their truck crashed as they battled the bushfires in December. Andrew O’Dwyer and Geoffrey Keaton were both fathers to very young children. In the same month, Samuel McPaul, also a volunteer firefighter, was killed in a fire truck rollover caused by extreme winds due to the fire.
In Australia itself, there are thousands of volunteer firefighters who took time out of their own lives to fight the blaze. To support the firefighters, you can choose to donate to NSW Rural Fire Service or the Country Fire Authority (Victoria). NSW Rural Fire Service is also specially collecting funds for the three fallen volunteer firefighters.
Click here to donate to NSW Rural Fire Service, or here to donate to Country Fire Authority (Victoria).
To help the families of Andrew O’Dwyer, Geoffrey Keaton and Samuel McPaul, click here.
Text: Cherrie Lim