A BUSHFIRE-affected Kangaroo Island family will soon have a temporary home on wheels thanks to the Gambier City Lions Club.
After exploring the country in their motorhome, club members Ray and Heather Doody decided to donate the vehicle to a family in need through the Lions Club.
Club president Jan Hellyer contacted the Kangaroo Island service club.
“I am sure if they could have come through the phone to thank us they would have,” she said.
“You could all but hear the tears.
“It is an emotional moment to know someone who has lost their home so tragically will now have somewhere to live.”
The motorhome is fully self-contained, with a toilet, shower, gas stove and fridge in addition to one double bed and a lounge that converts into a double bed.
Kangaroo Island Lions Club president John Berden said he was overwhelmed with the support received from the “mainland”.
“There has been an outpouring of support in the wake of these bushfires,” he said.
“Kangaroo Island is not a big community, people have either been personally impacted by the fires or know someone who has.
“For the last few months we have lived in constant danger – there is no way to describe it, it has just been devastating.
“But everyone has been very supportive of our island, we have had so many donations of food, tools, clothes and money – we even have another caravan coming from Tumby Bay.”
Mr Berden said with so many homes lost in the blaze, the club had a tough task ahead to find a deserving family.
“How do you choose just one family?” he said.
“There are so many families worthy of having the motorhome, but we are doing our best to find the right fit.
“We are working with Junction and they are helping us figure out who would most benefit from the home.
“I think it will be tough when we do make a decision because everyone thinks there are people more worse off than themselves.
“Even in times like this, our community just wants to help everyone they can and not take any help for themselves, but they need it.”
On top of the motorhome, the service club raised $11,000 for the recovery effort.
“We were really proud to have raised $10,000 to go straight into the Kangaroo Island community,” Ms Hellyer said.
“But then we had two individuals come out and donate $500 each so we ended up with $11,000.
“As a service club you really do get to see the good in people and it shows how supportive our community is.”
He said the group planned to save cash donations for four to six weeks and then inject them back into the community once help had subsided.
“The help will eventually slow to a stop,” he said.
“When that happens we need to do even more ourselves to put back into our own community.
“This is where the cash donations will come into play – we will be able to donate them to families so they can buy things in our community and keep that flow going.”
Mr Berden and his son took the motorhome to Kangaroo Island on Friday afternoon and said it would be donated to a family in the coming days.
Red Cross Mount Gambier donated hygiene packs which were transported back to Kangaroo Island in the motorhome, in addition to Lions members donating towels to help animals rescuers.
