KERANG Neighbourhood House has received a boost from a grant to help prepare for future disasters.
Last week the house was announced as one of 25 organisations to receive NAB Foundation community grants.
The program provides grants of up to $25,000 for local projects that help communities withstand and recover from natural disasters.
Kerang Neighbourhood House’s Disaster Management Program can now move forward from the planning stage to the implementation stage as early as this week, thanks to its $25,000 grant.
House manager Claire Fry said when she found out the grant application was successful, she couldn’t believe it.
She said she was very excited, as it would benefit everyone in Kerang and surrounding districts.
“We have had a lot of support for the program even before we found out about the funding with Gannawarra Shire lending their support,” Ms Fry said.
“Mallee Family Care have come on board and everybody is really excited about it.
“This is a project that I am really passionate about, because I have been there (experiencing disaster).”
The program takes a three-pronged approach, starting with the purchase of equipment such as generators and pumps to be kept at Kerang and surrounding communities, so that people can access the equipment in an emergency.
The second phase is to have 52-litre plastic boxes made into emergency boxes full of equipment such as gloves, masks, lighters, candles, torches, battery-operated radios and first-aid kits.
There will even be colouring books and pencils to help keep children occupied.
The contents of the boxes were the result of a survey undertaken to determine what people would like to have in the case of an emergency.
At present the plan is to make up 30 of these kits to be distributed to community centres around the district.
The final aspect is an educational and training program in disaster mitigation and management over three sessions teaching people how to use equipment like the generator and a pump, how to fill sandbags and position them, how to sterilise water, as well as helping participants in developing their own disaster management plan.
Firefighters, police and State Emergency Service personnel will be involved in the training, teaching people how to cope in an emergency.
Inspiration for the program came out of personal experience when Ms Fry experienced disaster for the first time during the 2022 floods.
Her farm became an island for seven weeks and she was ill-prepared for the event.
“We didn’t have any equipment when we were flooded, we had nothing we had to go and purchase,” Ms Fry said.
“There were so many questions raised when we were in that situation.
“Hopefully this program will help prepare people to be ready for disasters of any kind whether it is small or large.
“Apparently, we have been informed by the weatherman, that next year (is forecast to) be the worst floods that have ever been.
“Everybody needs to be ready, and this training is for everybody.”
It is anticipated such a program could be adopted across the state or nationally in areas vulnerable to bushfire and flooding.
