Breaking News
Comfort for farmers
22Feb07
HE can't make it rain, but Springwood Winmalee Anglican Church's Neil Prott can provide material and pastoral relief to drought-affected farmers in the Central West.
And the Penrith community can help. Under the Operation Countryserve 2007 banner, the church is gathering basic and luxury food, toiletries and hardware for farming families of the Parkes region.
The church will collect items until March 2, where they will be packaged before being taken to Parkes on March 9 by 34 church volunteers.
``We're not just distributing food, we'll sit down with the families and let them tell us what they've been going through, then giving them encouragement from the Bible,'' Mr Prott said.
It was difficult to choose an area because the extent and effects of the drought were so vast, he said.
``I realised that if we were going to do something it had to be within a gunshot of the Blue Mountains because of the transport.''
Individual farmers in the Parkes district faced staggering problems, he said. Their average bank overdraft was about $800,000. Their average age is 55, too old to change career paths.
``City people change houses every three or four years on average, but most of these people have been on their farms for three or four generations and it means everything to them,'' Mr Prott said.
Meanwhile dams have shrunk to nothing, there's no grass, and sheep and cattle rot where they fall.
Parts of the state have been drought-stricken since 2001 and farmers are now in their fifth year of hand-feeding stock.
``One farmer said to me: `When I walk out there I am surrounded by death dead grass, dead paddocks, dead animals','' Mr Prott said. ``Some farms out here, there isn't a blade of grass from horizon to horizon.
``You can't understand what the desperation is until you see it for yourself. It is extremely tough.''
Mt Riverview photographer Robert Bicknell said he was crying when he took photos around the Parkes district.
Phone Neil Prott on 4751 8846 or visit www.swac.org.au for more details or to donate.
