Northern Rivers Flood Recovery Impact

 Written by Bianca Rayner – Coraki resident and Recovery Hub Coordinator

In the months after the 2022 floods on the Northern Rivers, Casino’s local Global Care operation mobilized a team of volunteers to support the community led recovery efforts across the region. Volunteers assisted with the immediate need for food security, providing a free weekly BBQ to all residents. Not only did this service provide practical support, it also fostered human connection, allowing a community experiencing widespread collective trauma to gather and process their shared experience. Global Care volunteers were gracious and generous with their time and the resources available to them, establishing relationships with those coordinating recovery in our region.

Having established positive relationships with local community leaders, acting coordinator of Global Care’s Casino operation Paul Jurjens served as a conduit between his own networks and communities on the Northern Rivers. Along with his team of volunteers, Paul was able to coordinate large scale donations of furniture and household items to distribute through local recovery hubs. Global Care’s team regularly checked in with recovery hub coordinators to assess the developing needs within community. In liaising with local volunteers, Global Care purchased and donated 10 brand new washing machines, as well as a large quantity of ceiling fans and downlights. Something as simple as a new washing machine can be a beacon of hope for families experiencing the unique form of adversity we witnessed in the wake of this disaster. Global Care was instrumental in assisting recovery hub coordinators in restoring hope and dignity for our most vulnerable residents.

Global Care volunteers were also able to offer practical rebuild support to residents most in need, assisting with a wide array of tasks, from clean up of resident’s homes to heavy lifting and organising at the Coraki Hub. Global Care become the first port of call for many volunteers and residents in Coraki and surrounds, even assisting tradespeople with tasks that would typically be performed by a builder’s labourer. The most humbling of which was a commitment by Paul and his team to assist in ensuring the successful completion of the Dry Room Project in Coraki. The Dry Room Project provided residents with one completed “dry room” in their homes. Global Care volunteers were relentless in their commitment and work ethic, assisting the project’s builder in gyprocking rooms for 17 Coraki residents at the end of 2022. This project had a profound impact on the living conditions of recipients.

To this day, Global Care maintains a presence within the Coraki community. Our recovery support staff and volunteers are humbled by the consistency and level of support we continue to receive from Paul and his volunteers. The level of service they have provided our residents is difficult to convey in words. The kindness, professionalism, and discretion with which they conduct themselves inspires us every day.