ADRA in North-West Tasmania

ADRA volunteers in the north-west of Tasmania have been supporting their local communities with fresh produce and non-perishable items through the Waratah Community Centre, delivery to the doors, and Smithton Food Pantry. Recently, community interest in the Smithton Food Pantry has grown as result of a Facebook campaign, resulting in extra offers of donations, assistance, offers of volunteering form people who have never connected with the Pantry previously.

On 2 May 2020 the ADRA volunteers learned of 80 Tongan young people in Burnie who had little or no food due to lack of work as fruit pickers. By 1pm, the ADRA volunteers were delivering two cars full of groceries. Further drop offs have continued from ADRA Waratah supplies, coats and cooking from Wynyard, Burnie and Smithton church members, and this will continue until the restrictions on travel are lifted and the Tongan young people can safely return home.

On May 8 the ADRA team received a call to assist 30 more international workers on the west coast as they had received no income for 10 weeks and their supplies had depleted. After receiving their delivery, a text message was sent to one of the ADRA volunteers which read, ‘Thank you very much for all your help and support. Everyone here was very thankful for your team, for all the supplies today. What your team is doing is really amazing, especially during this pandemic’. Then after delivering the supplies the ADRA volunteers assisted an injured senior Waratah member by moving some of her wood supply closer to the house.

All our ADRA volunteers are ‘serving humanity so all may live as God intended’ which is a blessing for all involved.

Written for TASDA Magazine, Tasmania Conference