This is a special message from Baba Desi's support crew: Our beloved Belgrave Wizard is well into his 90s now, but he is still sharp as a tack! These days, it's the physical things he needs help with the most.

Recently, Baba Desi required some unexpected emergency plumbing. He was without access to running water for several days.

As a pensioner, Baba Desi has had to dig deep for a few extras this year including the cost of this repair, a total of $3311. With only a small amount of savings, this has left him struggling to cover regular expenses. As local volunteers, it has been wonderful to see how our community has rallied around Desi to help with transport, and every time a call has gone out for help for other things, we are flooded with offers! We know that there are plenty of people who have wanted to help in other small ways, so here’s your chance! We'd like to help Baba Desi cover the unexpected cost of this emergency plumbing work.

We are so grateful to have had some local relief through official supports, totalling $1200 towards the bill, and Desi is incredibly appreciative of this as well. (You might recall that donations from Desi's wardrobe to the Belgrave Op Shop have raised over $10k for support to our local community, so it's been lovely to have some of this karma returned). With this contribution, we only need to source $2111 to cover the emergency plumbing bill. All funds raised will go directly to Baba Desi.

If you're a member of Desi's local community and you'd like to contribute towards his wellbeing, and help out a local hero who has contributed so much to our area, please feel free to participate! Contribute only what you can afford — every small amount helps. A huge 'thank you' to Trish and team at The Blacksmith in Belgrave, who have generously begun providing Baba Desi's drinks when he pops in, helping to keep him active and social our village!

With our strong community banding together, we can all help Desi cover this cost, ensuring he can continue to be a vibrant and active presence in Belgrave for as long as he's able.

With deep gratitude, the Baba Desi Support Crew.