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By Urszula Lusk - Director
I took a road trip yesterday with my 13-year-old daughter Sophia to Cumnock, a small town of 300 people located around 40km north west of Orange.
Over the last six weeks I’ve been involved with The Ladies of the Land NSW - a movement started on Facebook by a few special women who live in Orange who saw a need to raise the spirits of the ladies of the land who in times of drought and adversity often put themselves last.
They simply asked the people of NSW to donate a shoebox filled with pamper items, to wrap it in newspaper and tie it with a ribbon. They then asked for volunteers to organise collection points and drop the parcels off to Orange for distribution all around NSW. I am one of these volunteers.
Initially they hoped they might get 150 boxes for their small community. But via the power of social media, they quickly realised they’d underestimated the Australian spirit of generosity. They then dared to hope they might get up to 1,000 boxes or more.
As of yesterday, these incredible women were expecting anything from 15-19,000 boxes.
These women are now working out of a large tin shed in the Showground of Cumnock. Volunteers, local transport companies, couriers and even the Royal Flying Doctors are assisting with the wider distribution beyond Cumnock, to country communities all around NSW.
But the majority of this work is being done by the women themselves, with their own money and in their own time.
They’re paying for their petrol, driving thousands of kilometres, feeding volunteers with their own money and using their own time and resources to work out the distribution.
A few ordinary ladies doing extraordinary things.
It was 37 degrees when Sophia and I arrived yesterday. The shed clearly has no air conditioning, there are no fans and there was not one whisper of wind. But there was also no complaining. These women are just getting on with the job.
There was a lot of love, a lot of laughter, a lot of camaraderie. And it was infectious. We wanted to stay and help. We wanted to be a part of this.
I sat down with one of the women Elzette Connan to learn a bit about what is happening in these drought-stricken communities.
Because of the drought, there’s no feed for their livestock so they have to buy everything. A bale of hay costs $650. And this bale of hay feeds 100 sheep and lasts four days. They have 1,000 sheep to feed every day. You do the maths.
Elzette estimated they spend $20,000 per month just to feed their ewes. They’ve already sold off their cattle. And soon they may have to sell their sheep. The summer ahead is predicted to be hot and dry, and the experts are telling them to not expect decent rain until Autumn 2020. A little drizzle of rain doesn’t help – they need downpours of a good three inches for it to make an impact. The ground is just that dry.
They’re watching their livestock struggle for food and water. Many people are having to sell their livestock, leave the farms and find unskilled work in the towns. The impact on their mental health is huge.
The towns are also suffering because people don’t have the money to spend on luxury items. They’re living month to month. If they can get through the month having fed their families and their livestock, that’s a small win.
What can you do to help?
The Ladies of the Land NSW need transport and courier companies to help with distribution.
They also need vouchers for petrol and also vouchers for food and water for all the people who are working out of that shed.
And those ordinary ladies doing extraordinary things need some pampering too.
If you can help in any way, please visit the Ladies of the Land NSW facebook page or contact the ladies directly - Elzette Connan 0417 255 522 and Tracey Potts 0447 048 929.
Thank you.
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