A year on from the devastating floods that affected the Goulburn Valley of Victoria in Rotary District 9790, the individuals and families whose lives were upended are being cared for a Rotary Foundation Disaster Response grant. Whilst the floods have long since receded, recovery and rebuilding continues and shattered lives are being financially assisted and supported.

Article by PDG David Anderson, D9790 District Rotary Foundation Chair

District 9790 received its second Disaster Response Grant from The Rotary Foundation in April this year. Approved within 48 hours of submitting and the money deposited shortly after, the money was soon being accessed by needy families of the Goulburn Valley. The Rotary Club of Shepparton South has developed a working partnership with the Greater Shepparton Foundation and the Goulburn Flood Recovery Service (GFRS) to administer and roll out the US$25,000 (A$36,000) grant.

In August, nearly 400 people were still dependent on relief through temporary accommodation and financial assistance through the flood recovery programme. The financial support to these people has come through the provision of cash cards to those who have made application to relieve some of the financial hardships they faced whilst in temporary accommodation.

Each of the partners has had a special role in the implementation of the programme. The host Rotary Club has the overall financial stewardship given its role as the lead Club in the grant application. The GFRS case manages the allocation, prioritising the applicants whilst The Greater Shepparton Foundation has been collecting the data, purchasing, and distributing the cards on behalf of Rotary.

The card value varies but $100 - $200 was the most used card and came on the recommendation of Goulburn Valley Family care. A$500 value was considered too much for some families to adequately manage. The cards are redeemable at either Coles or Woolworths supermarkets and are only redeemable to the purchase of food, grocery and day-to-day living items.

“There are still people requiring assistance as they wait for structural assessments on their properties, seek to rebuild or find new rentals” said GFRS Manager Amy Jones. “The impact on mental health around all of this has been huge. The journey is far from over.”

In the first four months the grant was administered, over A$20,000 was utilized from applications from 75 families.