By Mikayla van Loon
In a combined effort from a number of groups in the Croydon and Montrose area, a donation of five tool sheds were finally carted to fire affected communities in East Gippsland last week.
The project between the Rotary Club of Croydon/Montrose, Swinburne University of Technology Croydon and the East Gippsland Rotary Fire Aid Committee began in early 2020 but it was delayed by two years because of Covid-19.
Former Rotary club member and strategic projects manager at Swinburne Joel Martin said having been holidaying in East Gippsland during the 2019-20 bushfires he saw some of the devastation himself and wanted to help.
“For the people that were just traveling through, it was scary so it must have been petrifying for the people who live there. So I guess we saw the impact of fires firsthand,” he said.
“Working at Swinburne wherever we can, we try to have a social impact and this was just a really beautiful combination of a Rotary club, our students and a lot of smart people in the community connecting and coming together to help solve a problem.”
Over the two years since the fires, 30 vocational education and training (VET) students from Years 11 and 12 worked on building tool sheds to be donated to the region.
East Gippsland Rotary Fire Aid Committee member Peter Sindrey said since the fires, the attention of the Australian people has rightly been on Covid but communities are still struggling.
“Getting a little bit more help now is a little more difficult than it was a couple of years ago when we were in the headlines on the paper every day,” he said.
The recovery and rebuilding of 300 family homes are still underway in East Gippsland, with smaller communities, like Club Terrace, being pushed to the back of the queue.
“Some of them are being rebuilt now. Others, they’re waiting for finance to come through or they’re having trouble getting contractors and with a huge demand for bricklayers, plumbers, electricians and carpenters, it’s pretty hard to get qualified contractors around,” Mr Sindrey said.
“So some people still are living in caravans or makeshift properties while the house is rebuilt.”
When the offer from the Croydon/Montrose Rotary Club reached the committee in East Gippsland, Mr Sindrey said they could not refuse the offer for help.
Although students were still learning the important skills of framing, cladding, roofing, painting, and building floors as part of their curriculum, Mr Martin said it taught them the importance of helping others.
“This is the start of rebuilding some of these towns and these will become a central location for people to access tools, equipment, and reconnect as the rebuild happens,” he said.
“I think our students got a lot out of it too. Students are going to become tradespeople but I think it’s important for them to have an understanding of contributing to social life and to the community and to help them.”
Current students Nathan Smith, Jack Whitty and Caleb Unwin said it’s nice knowing the work they do can sometimes go towards a good cause.
“Giving to people who need more than you, it’s pretty special,” Jack said.
“We’re so fortunate to have what we have and it’s just really important for us to just give back whether it’s a lot or a little. It’s important for us because it helps them and it helps us and it just grows the community,” Caleb said.
The five sheds were picked up and delivered to East Gippsland on Thursday 24 February and Mr Sindrey said they would be distributed to small towns over the next few weeks and months.
The Rotary Club of Drouin also helped receive donations of power tools to stock each shed so that residents don’t have to worry about buying tools themselves.
It has been one big community effort getting these sheds ready and relocated to where they were needed most, a heartening experience for all involved.
“It gives us a great deal of heart to know that people over that way [in Croydon and Montrose] are thinking of us and wanting to help,” Mr Sindrey said.
“Through this Rotary fire committee, we’ve received enormous offers of help, both financially, time and labor help from all over the state.
“It’s been wonderful to know that in disaster situations such as these Gippsland fires, there were people from all over the place who were prepared to offer their assistance in one way or another, to overcome the need and to meet the requirements of fire victims.”
