ADRA Ferntree Gully team preparing emergency kits for people affected by the Longwood bushfire.
Support for bushfire victims
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Australia has activated its National Emergency Management Plan and is working with local Seventh-day Adventist churches and community members to respond to ongoing bushfires across Victoria.
Declared as a State of Disaster by the Victorian Government, the fires have significantly impacted multiple regions of the state. One person has died, nealy 500 structures (including homes, businesses and outbuildings) have been lost, and an estimated 15,000 livestock have died in fires that have burned at least 404,000 hectares of the state.
ADRA Australia has mobilised teams and resources to support affected communities, with a focus on practical relief and psychosocial care.
More than 650 emergency evacuation kits have been prepared and distributed across Victoria through local Adventist churches and ADRA sites. The kits include basic hygiene items and information about psychosocial support services, helping evacuees address immediate needs during displacement.
At the Lilydale evacuation centre, ADRA volunteers supplied essential sanitary items for evacuees. “Up until that point, there had been ladies using toilet paper for sanitary products,” said Sue Beament, manager at ADRA Ferntree Gully. “As soon as we arrived, the centre manager immediately used the supplies to stock the bathrooms.”
In Wangaratta, members of the local Adventist church coordinated a broader community response, opening the church to receive donations and assemble the evacuation kits with support from local residents, charities and businesses. Approximately 150 carloads of donated goods were received in a single evening, enabling volunteers to assemble 450 kits.
“Once we put the call out for donations, everyone pitched in to support people really doing it tough,” said Dale Mitchell, a church member and a lieutenant with the Country Fire Authority (CFA).
Alongside the evacuation kits, ADRA is also supporting the Wangaratta CFA brigade by providing provisions such as sports drinks and on-the-go snacks for firefighters responding to the emergency.
Mr Mitchell said practical support during disasters plays an important role in community wellbeing. He noted that access to basic items such as toiletries and food not only helps meet immediate needs but also reassures people that they are not facing the crisis alone.
Support for affected communities has been strengthened through partnerships with church and community organisations. On January 15, Sanitarium Health Food Company is delivering crates of UP&GO to ADRA Op Shop Albury for distribution through Wangaratta church, providing non-perishable food support for evacuees and emergency workers.
The response has also been supported by local organisations, including Follow Bless, Collective and Share the Dignity, working alongside ADRA to meet practical needs during the emergency.—Juliana Muniz/Naomi Vaotuua
