Hi, I’m the Mum who lost my life collection of what made our house a home.. in 20mins!!

I’ve lost a lifetime of building our lives, in about 20mins! That’s how fast the deliberately lit fire, by someone I had never even met, chewed through our home, our belongings, our memories, our irreplaceable trinkets, our comfort, our favorite things! The photos, the first drawings, the Lego statues, the silver necklace I’ve had for 22years, my daughter’s most loved plushie - a horse bigger than her!! My heart breaks every time I think of all the love in there that was reduced to a pile of ash & rubble.

Even I was shocked, after having to go through and list every item in our home for the court hearing. This was such a cruel and devastating task in itself, then for it to all add up to $150000+!! Was just crazy.. Then as the realization hit of my income and my inability to replace even part of that myself, was setting in, in that moment, I really started to feel like I had failed.

$150000 which on my fixed income I have no way to gain back. Sadly I had no contents insurance in our rental, $3500 of my saving burnt in the fire and the small amount the arsonist was ordered to pay is still outstanding 9months later!

Living on a fixed income I would find the best item for our needs, then I saved and purchased them on sale or secondhand knowing they were quality that would last forever or as long as possible.. just so I could get exactly what we wanted and needed. We loved our home, it was our comfort and safety! Having our home burnt down by this arsonist has taken every bit of that away!

Finding out there was zero help from Victims of crime and similar government agencies other than a $380 one off payment from Centrelink - I am stuck!

Compounding that, are my on going health issues - some from the fire itself and that we now need a new car. Unfortunately ours was written off when a deer launched in front of our vehicle on NYE. It wasn’t an expensive car, so uninsured but we loved it and it was super reliable to get us everywhere we need to go!

My young daughter and I are luckily staying with my mum for now, but the cost of replacing our lives is overwhelming.

We had help from some beautiful people in our lives immediately following the fire, which we will be forever grateful. It helped us with some essentials and secure our beautiful chooks in a new location in a fox proof enclosure.

But as we have just passed the 1year anniversary, finding out there is no government support from any agency & the minimal damages that were court awarded still not paid- the mental stress, coming out of shock, being stuck in survival mode, my health issues, the car & the list goes on! - I’ll be honest, we are struggling.

We are still so grateful as our precious animals were saved, they have been a lifeline in dealing with this tragic event, but this is sadly another cost since the fire, that is putting strain on my previously beautifully humble but affordable rural life.

Things like the loss of my Ryobi one+ collection, (about 10k worth of skins & batteries) which I started 10years ago, so I could do all the jobs on the farm myself, has really impacted my day to day living and capabilities. Some jobs just aren’t done atm, I just can’t do them without the tools.

I am not one to ask for help. I am independent, I always find a way to make things come together, to get the things we need and to do all the special things for my daughter! I am doing all I can to turn this catastrophe into simply a memory and not lifelong trauma for her.

Sadly with everything happening at once, from needing a new second hand car, bond and weeks in advance soon, other things to help make my day to day manageable with my health.. I have come to terms with the fact I need to..

So pretty please help me, help me get past this awful traumatic event so we can move forward with our lives.. to get over this hurdle, past this crazy event that should never have happened in the first place..

The smallest amount adds up and I would be so GRATEFUL to each and every one of you for ALL & ANY help

Love & positivity

from this Mumma x