I know this is a crazy time to ask for donations but my friend, Mark Curtis, really needs our support.

Mark lost his home in Eurobodalla, NSW during the New Years bushfires earlier this year. To those of you that don’t personally know Mark, when I say home, I’m actually referring to over 300 acres of farm land. Destroyed. 

Along with the land, the house and sentimental belongings, he also lost all of his machinery, equipment, sheds, more than 8Kms of fencing, veterinarian supplies and worst of all, some of his animals did not make it.

You would think after having his whole life burst into flames that that would have been the worst of it but unfortunately Marks problems only grew. For the last 5 months, Marks disaster relief support from the government has been everything but easy. 

At the beginning Mark struggled right off the bat with the government as they made it difficult to even begin the support process without proper ID. A little hard to obtain when everything he once had has now turned to ashes, birth Certificate included. Mark also had to cope with a scary shortage of hay, which was later, thankfully, donated by Need the Feed and the Harvey Hay Run from WA. 

Not only did the fires wipe everything out but a few weeks later flooding on the property created more damage. A new fire pump he installed to get water to his stock floated away, along with the 6.5km ($65000 spent) of fencing which bordered the river along his property. Local land services have a program helping  farmers who have boundary fences destroyed, but they deemed that rivers are not included in this support, so once again no help for Mark. 

Also, because he was smart enough to buy his farm in his family trust name, making him the sole person involved, this some how shattered any chances of eligibility to receive support from the government to rebuild his home and property. 

It’s hard to believe that with all the millions of dollars donated worldwide that Mark, and many others would not have more support from the Australian government.

Mark does not stop, he truly is a living example that proves hard work does pay off. He has started his rebuild with the help of the local community, his animals are well and healthy and it’s amazing to see the people of this community looking after their distraught neighbours.  

Thank you for caring enough to even open and read this. I know Mark is going to appreciate any support we can give him right now so thank you in advance for your generosity. 

Here a few photos of some of the damage on marks property. 

**Hey Mark, here’s to the future, to the regrowth and brighter days, can’t wait to see the farm looking absolutely stunning again. Send my love. See you soon :)