By Danielle Kutchel
Age is no barrier for a Cardinia Waters Retirement Village couple, who are giving their time and energy to the fire recovery effort in eastern Victoria.
Judy Smith, 80 and her husband Ralph, 82, were horrified by the scenes of devastation coming out of East Gippsland.
Determined to do what they could, the couple promptly joined BlazeAid to lend assistance to the recovery efforts.
Mrs Smith says what she’s seen at the BlazeAid camp in Bruthen has made her “proud to be an Australian”.
Volunteers from across Victoria and even the world have flocked to the camp to do their bit.
A catering group in Geelong drove over with meals for the whole camp. A German university student dropped in to lend a hand. One man collected eggs from around Lakes Entrance and gave them to the group, while another made a delicious tomato relish with donated tomatoes.
But the biggest surprise came when a casserole and some stewed plums arrived from Tynong – from people who had themselves been on the receiving end of BlazeAid’s assistance last year.
“One lady drove down three hours to give us the food so that night we didn’t have to cook a meal and we could have the evening off,” Mrs Smith said.
“I was blown away that these people were burnt out themselves and drove all that way.”
For their part, Mrs Smith is helping the cooking and administration teams, while her husband is clearing fences.
It’s not the first time they’ve volunteered their time to help others; the Smiths have lent their skills and heart to many causes over the years.
“We’re always doing volunteer work and we want to help people,” Mrs Smith said.
“We’re devastated by these fires, and rather than give our money away to charities, we’ve been there three times now.
“The first time we couldn’t work, and we were so disappointed, so we went to Lakes Entrance and spent our money there instead.”
She said the work would continue in the fire-ravaged areas for many months to come, and encouraged others to volunteer to help those who have lost everything.
“It’s so rewarding,” she said.
“We’re all strangers but we’re all working for one thing.
“Don’t let age stop you – you can always chop up carrots!”
