YOUR KINDNESS IS SUPPORTING THE BUSHFIRE RECOVERY

On behalf of the community of Kiah – and so many other communities across NSW and ACT – thank you for your wonderful support throughout the bushfire crisis earlier this year.

Phillip Novak was one of the RFS fire fighters on the front line in the NSW South Coast town of Kiah, trying to save homes and lives. Like far too many Australians caught up in this summer’s devasting fires Phillip lost his own home, and only just escaped with his life.

“In just half a minute, the structures I was protecting were enveloped in flames. It was a tempest of just unimaginable proportions,” said Phillip.

The day after the fire took his home, Phillip had help from Foodbank. “It was just chaos. Smoke was still in the air and we were just reaching out to get basic assistance. The food pantry at Merimbula was the first place that helped us,” he said.

As you would expect the road to recovery for these communities will be long. Communities just like Kiah are reliant on continuing food relief and families like Phillip’s still benefit from your kindness. In March alone, 473,000 kilos of food and groceries were delivered to bushfire affected areas.

As Phillip explains, “We’re all having difficulty with just day to day living – we’ve lost the things that make a home.

“Simple things like receiving food is an important part of rebuilding our lives.”