Last week I shared with you an update about Logan’s first Local Government Disaster Management Group meeting for the year, and how volunteers were the champions after the Christmas storms.
Today I want to tell you the story about one of those volunteers – Sarah Weir from Jimboomba – who was recently recognised as Logan’s Volunteer of the Year.
If you’re not from around Jimboomba, Cedar Vale or the surrounding areas, you may not realise that when those communities lose power, they lose access to water and sewerage too.
You can imagine how challenging that made things after the huge storms at the end of last year.
Two days after the destructive storms came through, cutting power to so many, Sarah and her two daughters opened the Jimboomba Community Hall with permission from the Jimboomba Rotary Club, expecting that the community would only need it for a few days.
People were invited to have a break from the heat in the air conditioning and access the Wi-Fi to contact insurance companies and family.
By New Year’s Eve, Sarah realised the situation was a lot worse than she had anticipated and, although she didn’t have experience in emergency recovery, she was resourceful and determined.
Members of the Rotary Clubs of Jimboomba and Beaudesert, QUOTA Jimboomba and the Logan Village Lions came to volunteer alongside her.
But when the power restoration was pushed back another seven days, Sarah could see the desperation from the community growing.
People had lost the entire contents of their fridges.
It was hot.
Torrential rain meant the community was also on flood watch.
Many couldn’t have hot showers or flush a toilet properly.
The generators were incredibly expensive to run.
State Member for Logan Linus Power and I helped Sarah arrange showers for the hall on New Year’s Day.
Local councillor and now-Deputy Mayor Scott Bannan helped organise food. Orange Sky arrived with washing machines.
From 9am to 9pm every day for 12 days, Sarah had the doors to the Jimboomba Community Hall open, serving an estimated 7500 home cooked meals to people who needed them.
Even after the hall was closed on the 7th January, Sarah continued working with those in recovery mode, cooking meals and assisting in any way she could.
I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving of being named Logan’s Volunteer of the Year.
