Australian’s are no strangers to extreme weather conditions. Each year we are faced with extreme heat, floods, bush fires and of course, drought. This past few months have been particularly bad, with all these events happening simultaneously in various locations across the country.
Unfortunately drought is part of life for many people living on the land. As if life isn’t hard enough for some people, they are then faced with the ongoing drought and all the effects that come with that. People are dealing with the heartbreak of watching their stock die from lack of food or water, struggling to feed themselves and sometimes being forced to make the difficult decision of selling up and moving off the land, sometimes after the family has resided there for hundreds of years. Facing these stark realities is leading to severe depression and, unfortunately in many cases, suicide.
As most of us live in the city and don’t see the effects of the drought on a daily basis, it’s easy to block it out and pretend it isn’t happening, but believe us, this is real.
Anyone who knows us knows that we love to travel and spend a lot of time in the outback and have seen first-hand the effect this drought is having on our beautiful country and its people. During our travels we’ve spoken to those affected and it’s heartbreaking to hear stories of no rain or no feed for their stock, having to destroy, sell or give away stock and working dogs …. not to mention the impact this all has on one’s mental state of mind. Farmers are having to resort to roadside grazing their cattle on the side of public roads as they are literally starving as they have no feed available or the owners simply cannot afford to feed them. We personally have family living on the land and they too are suffering. It really is far worse than most people realise.
We personally donate to various charities, but this particular one, Rural Aid, provides a holistic support program to rural Australia. They run the “Buy a Bale” campaign, in which donations help purchase and distribute fodder, hampers and more. They also run other programs such as Farm Rescue, Weekend Warriors, The Farm Army, all of which do a great deal to help our struggling farmers.
These rural communities need our support and we all need to stick together and support each other through these tough times, so anything that you can give, whether it’s $2, $20 or $200, would be greatly appreciated. Don’t forget, any donations over $2 are tax deductible.
We are George & Shelly, a married couple from Sydney, Australia, who love 4WDing, camping and travelling this great country of ours. We love sharing our adventures and hope to inspire others to travel as well. Join us on our journeys around Australia!
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