With fires currently causing massive devastation to parts of Australia, one group of women decided to do something to try and help out the heroic firefighters in their efforts.
A group of Muslim women have been hitting headlines for their amazing actions.
The group was made up of women from the Australian Islamic Centre based in Newport. The Australian Islamic Centre has been very vocal about the need for help for those fighting the blazes across Australia, and so one cluster of members decided to take action themselves.
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The group travelled over four hours to provide aid to exhausted firefighters.
The group, accompanied by other volunteers, traveled four hours from Newport, Victoria (a Melbourne suburb) to Johnsonville with five trucks of donated supplies for victims of the blaze.
However, their efforts didn’t stop when they arrived with the supplies.
Once they arrived, the group provided food for exhausted firefighters.
The group then provided breakfast for 150 firefighters, which is no mean feat.
The gesture touched the hearts of those working to quell the fires, as a video was posted on the Australian Islamic Centre’s Facebook page of Johnsvonville firefighter, Rodney Baylis, saying:
“[I just want to] extend the thanks from the fire-affected areas. I just been on the phone to the captain down there and he nearly broke into tears when I told him what we are bringing in for them today.”
The money was initially to be used elsewhere.
Overseer of online public relations for the Australian Islamic Centre, Rashid Elhouli, explained that the money was initially to be used for other activities in the centre. However, the volunteers from the centre decided to donate it all to the fire efforts.
“The money was meant to go towards girls youth activities. But, they decided to donate it all to the bushfire appeal,” Elhouli told CNN .
The women managed to raise the donations in barely any time at all.
The Australian Islamic Centre took to Facebook on Thursday, announcing that they were looking for donations for the victims of the blaze. The centre was looking for essentials which could help those left without homes.
The page wrote an emotional thanks to these women online:
“These sisters worked tirelessly to help organize aid for the bushfire appeal. Their work began on Friday noon, where they braved the heat to organize a sausage sizzle and raise money for the appeal; Alhamdullilah $1500 was raised.
“They then worked throughout Friday night sorting the much-needed items into different sections, getting them ready to load on to the trucks. Saturday morning at 3am, they were up and ready for the journey to the relief areas. They worked the whole day without complaint and showed genuine love and care in everything they did.”
The groups work has been widely praised.
People took to the comments of the centre’s Facebook posts to share their praise for the selfless and tireless efforts of the group, writing the likes of:
“What an incredible job to get everyone together so quickly. Fantastic work ladies, thank you from all of us who aren’t available to help.”
“I am proud to call you all my Aussie brothers and sisters!”
“Thank you, ladies. I honestly shed tears when I read about your generosity and support. In a world where I thought this form of kindness was lost, you among many other Australian people, band together to support one another. Again thank you.”
However, there is still more work to be done.
The devastation occurring in Australia at the moment has been covered quite considerably across the media and the internet in general, however, there is still a lot of work to be done to help those affected, as well as those still fighting these blazes.
There is currently a blaze the size of New York city in Australia.
The fires joined during the night earlier this week and combined to form a single inferno larger than the New York borough of Manhattan. The 23 square mile blaze poses a massive threat and demonstrates how serious the situation in Australia really is.
Hopefully, more people will continue to offer assistance.
As uplifting stories such as this continue to spread across the internet, hopefully, it will inspire more people to help in any way they can at this difficult time, and shed a little light during this dark time.
h/t: CNN
