January 17th, 2011 by Ian

The people of Queensland are totally amazing. You’re probably tired of hearing people saying that, but they’re saying it because it’s true. I’ve been totally humbled by their generosity; here’s why…

My family volunteered with the cleanup effort

All week we’d been hearing about the ‘amazing Australian spirit’. “Pah!” I thought. “We all help out when we can, no matter what country we’re from.”

But then we (my wife and I) volunteered a day of our time to contribute to the cleanup effort, and we saw what everyone was on about.

Brisbane’s Lord Mayor, Campbell Newman, had put out a call for volunteers, and the response was so great that we had trouble finding work to do!

Every house we knocked at had already been cleared!

On Sunday, we loaded our car with gloves, shovels, gurneys and gum boots, ready to get our hands dirty. But the first Volunteer Centre we went to said they didn’t need us! We assumed they just had their wires crossed; 20,000 homes had been flooded, after all! So we decided to simply drive until we saw a house that needed some help. But every house we knocked at had been cleared!

An army of ants

There were trucks and Bobcats everywhere. And people… Thousands of them! Like and army of ants.

Eventually we caught up with the action, and managed to get our gloves dirty, loading a few trucks. But the sheer scale of the human labour available meant that within 2 hours, we were once again struggling to find houses in need.

More than just labour

My pal in Brisbane (Simon) had been hit by the floods. They’d lost everything but a few treasured items. But he was still very upbeat and smiling, because he’d had help from all over the place — not just with the cleanup.
He had flood cover (insurance) with Suncorp, and they’d given him $5,000 instantly to go out and buy some essentials. He was already living in a rental. He’d been given beds and linen by the local church. His pal had given him a car. His bank had put his home loan on hold for 3 months. Even Foxtel put his account on hold for 6 months. And all this was sorted in 2 days, with no questions, no red tape. WOW!

I couldn’t believe my ears. This wouldn’t have happened in the UK (where I’m from).

Putting it in perspective

While chatting to Simon, he told us about another friend who helped him during the cleanup. This friend’s wife had been taken to hospital just before the flood, and sadly had passed away. Simon said his losses were nothing compared to this.

I’m lucky enough to be back to my normal life

It seems very strange to go back to my normal life after witnessing what’s happening for hundreds of thousands of my neighbours. These things will stick with me forever.

Well done everyone involved!

How you can help

Don’t get me wrong. This is far from over for the people of Queensland. The cleanup may be near done in my local area, but there’s still a huge need for builders and tradespeople, and the cleanup has only just begun in other parts of Queensland. Also, not everyone was as lucky as my pal Simon, with a good insurance company and good friends.

Please give generously through one of the official sites below:

1. Donate: If you can spare a few dollars to contribute towards the flood relief, please donate through the Queensland Government’s official Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal website.
2. Volunteer: Queensland still needs volunteers, as there’s a ton of work still to be done. Click here to volunteer.

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