With so many still living rough, sleeping in tents or in their partially rebuilt homes, BDC and Rotary have responded to community responder Mark O'Toole's calls for help, and as of next week will be delivering the first of 12 pods to be placed at the displaced family's place of choice, to meet the growing need, as we move closer to winter.

Representative of the Rotary Club, Kathy Rivett, Incoming District Governer of District 9780 which stretches from the western half of Victoria to some of the east of South Australia, told us that she, and other members of her local Rotary Club, Alfredton, were determined to show Northern Rivers residents they are behind us. "This is a National Disaster, and just today I sent emails to all clubs within the Australia-Pacific, telling them of our project, and asking for circulation for donations".

Rotary has donated $120,000 in funds, to support the first 12 pods being built through BDC, a total of $10,000 for each $30,000 Pod, which will allow some of the most vulnerable, displaced families/members of the community, to access shelter straight away, by using their grant money, finance or fundraised money, to cover the rest of what BDC have said "are cost" priced homes, they are providing.

BDC Global Development Manager Matt Glynn said BDC started during the Volcano Natural Disaster which displaced 8000 people in Papua New Guinea. Within 24 hours they provided accommodation for those in need, due to the very nature of the prefabricated, modular homes.

"They are like a Mecano set, people do not need specialised building skills to put them together, it's why we can provide them so fast. In a third world country like Papua New Guinea, there wasn't the same level of procedural red tape to follow, but what we have found here is that the processes, grants, applications to various levels of Government and long-term concerns, as well as vetting processes, seem to have created a bureaucratic issue, we wanted to see people in shelters, with the colder weather coming, and avoid the lengthy issues that other processes have been taking".

Through their partnership with Northern Rivers Community Gateway (NRCG), people will be assessed with the neediest being a priority for the pods. Both Cathy and Matt have pledged that as long as the funds are coming in, they will keep them coming, with the Rotary Fundraiser set for 3 months, and Kathy assures, another at least, to be set after that through their Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS).

Further to this amazing story, Kathy and her husband and two other members of their local group will be coming up by bus, which was donated by BDC, travelling from Ballarat through Sydney and up to Lismore, packed full of donations of pet food, linen, computers and other donations from Rotary Clubs, with the bus then being donated and fitted out, to house another family on the list. We will follow their journey and the moment they arrive.

Rotary up until this project had collected pet supplies, donating 3 truckloads and 5 pallets to date, for pets of displaced community members. Rotary welcomes corporate partnerships for donations of items and fixtures, such as toilets, linen, small furnishings, plumbing and lights, and these can come from anywhere between Ballarat to Lismore, for pods to be fitted out appropriately.

Matt said, "It's important for us to support local, so finishes will be installed by local tradespeople, as will many of the fixtures and fittings, keeping the money in Lismore, where we can source them, though we know the demand here is great". Matt added that BDC decided to offer these Pods at cost due to the "calls I was getting from people like Mark, desperate to help the community, or house their families, every 5 minutes."

"We are working so hard, around the clock, trying to source and pick up extra donations and items, to minimise costs to the people who need these homes the most, our team today is driving around, picking these up and we have worked around the clock to finalise the correct, fair processes, so people can have adequate, long-lasting shelter, quickly".

To donate to this initiative people can go to the Rotary Page

To apply for housing, contact Jenny at Northern Rivers Community Gateway

To see what BDC are doing and offer donations of fixtures check out the BDC Page