PEOPLE POWER
This week showed the true power of the human spirit in the most unexpected way. When Survivor contestant Luke Toki, who is arguably the best player in the franchise’s history, was voted out just short of the finale, fans of the show banded together to start GoFundMe pages for the family man, who has two sons with autism and a daughter with cystic fibrosis.
At the time of press, the leading fundraising page was at $230,000 – and counting.
The sheer generosity of people who were touched by Luke’s story could warm even the coldest of hearts, but unfortunately there are still so many other causes in desperate need of our attention, and money, falling by the wayside – the most alarming of which is the ‘critical’ drought being experienced across NSW.
Authorities have warned that ‘Day Zero’ – when rivers and dams are expected to run completely dry – could happen as early as November without significant rainfall or government intervention. Under the worstcase scenario, the first towns to lose water supply will be Dubbo, Cobar, Nyngan and Narromine.
“This is a drought of unprecedented proportions,” NSW Minister for Water Melinda Pavey said, assuring the public the government is doing “everything humanly possible” to assist, including looking at finding water in bores to extend town water supplies.
Heartbroken farmer Steven Bulmer, who runs the historic Tenterfield cattle farm, said his family was being forced to hand-feed cattle on their sun-scorched paddocks to keep the farm running. “That’s just what we’ve got to do at the moment to survive,” he told 9News.
Now is the time for Australians to do what we do best and band together to support those who need it most. Visit droughtangels.org.au or buyabale.com.au to make a donation. – Stacey Hicks, Editor