A helping hand for farm families in drought

PICTURED: Greater Hume Mayor Lea Parker, Rotary Club of Holbrook President Craig Rowe, Group 10 leader Kerry Morton, Counsellors John Beer, Jill Boon and Bruce Dwerryhouse, of the Rotary Club of Albury West.

A grant of $5,000 will assist 15 farming families across NSW who are facing financial hardship and stress, providing timely relief where it’s needed most.

Group leader and member of the Rotary Club of Holbrook, NSW, Kerry Morton, coordinated the initiative for funds from The Rotary Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund. Kerry worked with fellow Holbrook Rotarians Craig Rowe and Bruce Quick and farmer Bruce Dwerryhouse from the Rotary Club of Albury West, who liaised with the NSW Rural Financial Counselling Service.

Helping to distribute this aid, representatives from the counselling service John Beer and Jill Boon thanked Rotary for organising the funds. They stressed that there are currently 40 clients on the books.

“We see daily need during our visits to clients, who have little food in the fridge,” John said. “We have been working with other agencies to help the situation. We are hearing stories that make you cry, and we know these funds will make a difference to the families.”

With the guidance of the Rural Financial Counsellors, the families were identified and the selection process was conducted with the utmost care and confidentiality,” Kerry said.

The funds were distributed via 15 $300 IGA vouchers to assist with essential groceries and household needs, and five $100 Ampol fuel vouchers to support personal transportation and farming operations.

Commenting on the impact of prolonged drought, Greater Hume Mayor Lea Parker said, “Our farmers are exhausted, financially strained and emotionally broken”.

Lea updated Rotarians on current action being taken by community leaders in Greater Hume and Snowy Valley’s Councils to draw federal and state governments’ attention to widespread drought conditions in Southern NSW.

Regional leaders are calling for:

• Formal disaster recognition for drought alongside floods and bushfire
• Debt relief through Regional Investment Corporation (RIC) loans to enable re-investment
• Freight and fodder subsidies
• Tax incentives for preparedness and long-term resilience

Holbrook Rotarians were honoured and grateful to be able to assist their local farm families through The Rotary Foundation.

Over the past century, The Rotary Foundation has transformed generous donations into life changing projects that improve health, provide quality education, support the environment and alleviate poverty across the globe,” Kerry said.