DEBBIE KEMP

LIFE COACH

DEBBIE KEMP

Coast to Cobar – The Initiative Helping Families in Australia’s Drought Stricken Farming Towns

Geoff and Pat Dryland are a retired couple living in New South Wales’ (NSW) Illawarra region. In late 2019 they led an initiative to support families affected by drought in rural NSW. They called the initiative Coast to Cobar and it was such a success that it was run again late last year, in 2020. Here’s the story of how it all happened…

The NSW-wide drought was so severe in 2019 that the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment declared 97.2% of NSW in drought, and stated that 40 water storages across the state had less than six months’ supply in a worst-case scenario.

Geoff and Pat wanted to help families who were doing it tough, yet they held some concerns about the amount of charitable donations going to overhead and administrative costs. So they decided that they’d take a ute full of food, toiletries, and other much needed items direct to the families who needed it.

When they told family and friends, others wanted to add to their donations too. It was important to Geoff and Pat that 100% of items donated reach those in need, and it was clear that others valued this too.

So much was donated that Geoff and Pat needed to secure a storage shed… and not only a trailer but an extra ute and trailer as well! Thankfully, local businesses Fairy Meadow Self Storage and Kennard’s Hire Corrimal supported these needs. Cash donations of over $12,000 also came in; these helped Geoff and Pat to shop locally, support local businesses, and provide even more than what had already been donated.

After some research and conversations with their connections, it was decided that Geoff and Pat would visit Cobar. Cobar Shire is situated in the centre of NSW, and the town is known for mining and farming. In May 2019 the Guardian reported that the dam servicing Cobar was at 5.9% and headed for empty. In July the town’s biggest employer announced 130 job losses from the local mine. In September, WaterNSW projected that Cobar would be one of the first towns to lose water supply, potentially by November.

When Geoff and Pat first visited Cobar in September 2019, they met with local farmer Sheena Geppert, who is an active member of Rotary and the Country Women’s Association, and has taken on many other responsibilities to help fellow farmers in need. Sheena and other volunteers helped to distribute all of the donations amongst 90 landowners. Additionally, Christmas gifts were distributed for around 105 children who didn’t otherwise have much to look forward to at Christmas.

Geoff and Pat received much appreciation from the people of Cobar, and they left feeling that they’d really made a difference to this community. This feeling might be just what led to them doing it all again in 2020.

By mid-2020, the world was dealing with Covid-19, and Australia had also been through severe bushfires and some flooding too. Many people were affected financially by Covid-19 and had less money to donate to other causes, and many people had also directed their charitable interest towards bushfire relief. There wasn’t much news highlighting how rural NSW was going with the drought, and some news reported that recent rainfall had moved much of rural NSW out of ‘drought status’.

But Geoff and Pat were still in touch with their new friend Sheena, and they had heard a different perspective… that it would take a very long time for drought affected families to feel any sense of relief or recovery following such an intense period of drought.

Geoff and Pat decided to do the trip again, and again they put the word out to family and friends. Amazingly, they were again inundated with donations, including $9,000 in cash! How wonderful that people were able to recognise that this farming community still needed support. Again, they used storage facilities provided by Fairy Meadow Self Storage and were able to arrange to travel to Cobar in a truck provided by Kennard’s Hire Corrimal.

They travelled to Cobar in December 2020, taking food, toiletries, pet food, clothing, children’s Christmas gifts, etc. Cash donations were spent purchasing vouchers in Cobar’s small businesses, and everything was distributed throughout the community.

Whilst in Cobar Geoff and Pat met many locals who were so grateful for this help. Post-trip they received photographs of children with their Christmas gifts, and wearing their new clothes, always with a big smile. Geoff and Pat very much enjoyed the opportunity to meet with so many wonderful locals, and they came home inspired by the stories they were told by people who love their land and community and will do what they have to, to get through these times.

Geoff and Pat would very much like to continue offering support to these families. If you are interested in donating to their cause, please email coasttocobar@ yahoo.com

As the writer of this article, I can share that Geoff and Pat are my parents. It really has been an inspiring thing to see this initiative come together. It was very much something that started as a small gesture of support, something they’d do together to help people in need. The way they attracted the support and donations of others meant that this ‘small gesture’ became a very impactful initiative. It has certainly helped many, many families. It has made Christmases easier, it has eased the burden of some shopping expenses, and it has left a small rural community feeling supported by people many miles away. We really can make quite a meaningful impact when someone champions a cause and people rally together.

DEBBIE KEMP

17 | eYs Magazine, Autumn 2021