ON 28 June 2014 Aussie Helpers founders, Brian and Nerida Egan got word that Aussie Helpers had won another award for their dedication to the well-being of the outback community, in particular, Aussie Farmers.
The award was presented at an outback ball at Gregory where there is just a pub and two or three houses which is about 100km south of Burketown in the Gulf of Carpentaria Aussie Helpers were nominated by people who live in the outback.
Every two years an individual or organisation is chosen for the award for improving the lives of families in the outback. Previous winners have been the Flying Doctor Service, Maureen McCulloch author of the Thornbirds, Ian McNamara of the ABC Australia all Over. QLD.
Winning this award shows the respect that Aussie Helpers have in the outback and those that dedicate their lives to improving it for others.
Brian and Nerida Egan established Aussie Helpers in 2002 to help fight poverty and lift the spirits of those severely affected by drought in the outback.
From what they saw around them and what they heard from people in the bush, Brian and Nerida felt that no organisation was doing anything significant to help families suffering the full effects of the worst drought in living history.
Brian, as a veteran of the Indonesian Confrontation and the Vietnam War in the 1960s who lost his own farm in the 1990s from a combination of drought and personal depression, he is no stranger to hard times.
Aussie Helpers have some 40 volunteers and mainly work via the ever faithful “Bush Telegraph” to find farming families who are in desperate need of assistance.
Aussie Helpers work around three words “care, share, respect” which simply means that Aussie Helpers care about people in need and will share whatever assistance they have available free of charge and will give the recipients the utmost respect and confidentiality.
Aussie Helpers raises all its own funding and is not aligned to any other charity or religious association.
Unlike government funded organisations, Aussie Helpers are all unpaid volunteers making a real difference to the lives of real people.
