Help Jamie Robinson rebuild his home in Yowrie
My name is Sean Davey and I'm a freelance photographer based in Canberra, Australia. On 31 December 2019 many parts of the NSW south coast were impacted heavily by bushfire, and the small town of Cobargo and surrounding areas were directly hit by a fire of extreme magnitude.
The opening spread of the story by Trent Dalton and myself featuring Jamie and Omi in this weekend's Weekend Australian Magazine (27-28 June 2020).
For the next few months I spent time in Cobargo and the surrounding areas of Yowrie, Wandella, Quaama and Coolagolite; meeting people and reporting on the recovery and rebuilding efforts that were taking place. Everyone has an incredible story to tell and my job as a freelance photographer was to meet them and try to get their stories into the mainstream media, so that people all over Australia and the world could understand what was happening and what people were going through.
(The view from Jamie's block in Yowrie, showing where the fire came from. As far as one can see, the land, the forest and the hills are still decimated six months on).
Sometime in January I met Jamie Robinson, albeit briefly, for the first time. I was at the Cobargo Arts Centre, which had been set up as a temporary relief and distribution centre for donated clothes to the Cobargo community. I was with my friend Dan and we were talking with a group of locals, one of them faithfully accompanied by his dog Omi. Jamie was quiet that day, it had only been days if not a week or two, since he experienced the bushfire that destroyed his home, all his possessions, and had almost taken his life. I was nervous and cautious not to say or ask too much, in that time I found it was better to keep quiet and just listen. The harrowing stories of people who had seen the fire, tried to fight it, and ultimately escaped from it were overwhelming in numbers and frightening in detail. Jame also had a story, but wasn't doing much talking either. He sat with the group, quietly listening and tending to Omi, who never left his side.
(Jamie and Omi at the Cobargo Showgrounds, whilst taking a break from volunteering to load water tanks).
Months later, when I was back on an assignment in Cobargo, I met Jamie again. I recognised him by his long blonde hair and wiry, strong frame, but more so it was his faithful companion that triggered my memory of him. This time Jamie was volunteering at the Cobargo Bushfire Relief Centre, loading water tanks that had been donated for residents affected by the bushfire (Trent Dalton has written a piece in this weekend's The Weekend Australian Magazine - 27-28 June 2020). 
(Jamie (l) helping load water tanks at the Cobargo Showgrounds).
This time meeting Jamie afforded me more time to spend with him and for us to introduce ourselves properly to one another. During a break in his work (he has been volunteering consistently since the fires), Jamie, playing with Omi, opened up to me about the experience of the past few months.
"Omi', she's kept me alive. There was a moment when I was tying a noose and she literally hit my arm and knocked it out of my hand" Jamie said to me, whilst playing tug of war with Omi, using one of his work gloves.
Jamie lost everything in the New Year's Eve bushfire except the clothes on his back and his dog Omi. His home (which was uninsured) burnt to the ground, and he lost his ute and all of his possessions.
(Jamie with Omi in the remains of his property in Yowrie).
Jamie is a selfless human being. That much is evident. Even as we survey his destroyed block of land, including his beloved vegetable garden, Jamie recounts what it meant to have a place to welcome visitors.
"When people would come here, I'd make sure that they left with a basket full of fresh fruit and veggies, pickings of herbs and beautiful flowers as well. I can't wait to get back to that."
Now living in temporary accommodation in Bermagui, Jamie was offered a second hand Subaru wagon for $500, which was half of the $1000 he got as emergency assistance at the time of the fire. This has enabled him to make the 40km journey to his home in Yowrie to at least start clearing up.
But again, Jamie thinks of others as he packs the car with wood that he has cut from his property, which he takes to his elderly neighbours in Bermagui for them to use as firewood. 
(Jamie collects firewood from his property that he has cut for his elderly neighbours in Bermagui).
"In the meantime, I'm just doing things like cutting firewood, helping out other people. I've got elderly people who live next door to me in Bermagui, and especially with this COVID stuff where there's minimal contact with people, I've just been making sure that everyone is okay. I'll cook a lasagna or beautiful, lovely veggie soup or something like that. So I deliver a hot plate of food and, you know, take some soup over for the other elderly neighbours and just make sure that people are looked after and there's that basic connection of genuine care."
Jamie is quick to sing the praises of the Fire Relief Run, who organised a new concrete slab for his property. The slab was laid thanks to Peter Gualtieri from Highlands Concrete & Jad Chahine from Conzpec Civil, and was donated free of charge as part of the two comapnies' commitment to helping rebuild fire affected areas. (The value of the slab installation is easily around $30k Peter tells me).
"This (the slab) is just such a massive glimmer of hope. At the moment, my future is something that is just so fluid, it can't be fixed. This has offered me something, from the ground up I have to rebuild a life again. I've been through this before..." Jamie refers to to the 2003 Canberra bushfire, in which Jamie also lost his home and everything that he owned. He can't help but let out a laugh at the irony of being burnt out twice by bushfires.
And as for the water tank, Jamie laughs again, this time displaying his sense of optimism for the future.
"It looks good, doesn't it. It's got a plastic bladder on the inside which did cook a bit. The water is tainted so it can't be used. I'm just going to leave it until I can work out a plan as to what to do with it."
"If I can't use it, I might just raise the roof on it two foot, glaze and line it and deck it out to have a little holiday house or Bn'B."
(Jamie and Omi on the concrete slab that was donated by Sydney businesses Highlands Concrete & Conzpec Civil, organised by the Fire Relief Run).
So this is Jamie's story, or more accurately, one part of it. I urge you to read Trent Dalton's story in this weekend's Weekend Australian Magazine to get more of an idea of what Jamie has been though. In the meantime, I'd like to ask you to consider contributing to help Jamie rebuild his home in Yowrie.
Jamie has told me he can rebuild for about $150,000. So I figured $50k (1/3) would be a good place to start. I'd love to help him raise more. But I, and he, understand that we are living in uncertain times and there are many people who are currently doing it tough. We don't have any expectations of how much we'll raise, and I have to say that Jamie was uncomfortable at first asking for help. 
(Jamie with Omi at his property in Yowrie).
"I've come to accept that it's okay to ask for help. It's not in my nature to do something like this, but I understand that I've lost a lot, and that I am in a vulnerable place. If there are people out there that want to, and are able to help me, than I'm happy to tell my story and give this a go."
If you have any questions in regards to this GoFundMe, please don't hesitate to send me a message. In the past six months I have set up two othere GoFundMe campaigns, one for farmer Steve Shipton (https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-steve-shipton-from-coolagolite) and the other for Cobargo resident Zoey Salluci-McDermott (https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-zoey-and-michael-from-cobargo).
I may have overstepped my role as a journalist and observer in setting up these funds, but I am comfortable with my role in helping not only tell these people's stories, but in using my images and words to do a small part to raise money to help these people rebuild their lives.
All money from this campaign (like the others) goes directly to Jamie, not through me in any way, shape or form.
Thank you for reading (and contributing if you are able).
Sean Davey
28 June 2020