Get Behind Mogo Aboriginal community & rangers

Get behind Mogo Aboriginal community and rangers devastated by bushfire

The New Year’s Eve bushfires have devastated the small historical community of Mogo and have left members homeless. It destroyed a large number of businesses and services including Mogo Local Aboriginal Land Council (Mogo LALC). The Mogo LALC plays an important role for the local Yuin community across many localities (Mogo, Broulee, Mossy Point, Batehaven, Malua Bay and Tomakin), providing a space for community members to meet in addition to providing a wide range of services, from housing to art and education programs, alongside a range of cultural and environmental services. These services are needed more than ever to deal with the difficult time ahead.  

The local community is strong and resilient, but much support is needed for the rebuilding effort and to assist those who were the most affected by this tragedy. The fires have deeply scared Yuin Country, including sites of spiritual and cultural significance in addition to the loss of a large number of animals which only add to the trauma.

The fund raised by this campaign will go directly to and be managed by the Mogo Aboriginal Land Council to respond to the priorities identified by local community members and will be used to:

Rebuild community houses and supporting families and Elders including providing trauma and mental health support

At least five houses have been destroyed in the fire. Yuin community Elders are among those who have lost their homes and are in need of immediate and longer-term assistance.

The fund raised through this campaign will also aims at providing trauma and mental health support, especially for the children and Elders of the community.

Support the Rangers team so they can swiftly resume their community and land and sea management work at a time where it is critically needed and to restore the lands for future fire protection.

With the loss of Mogo Local Aboriginal Land Council, the Ranger team has lost important equipment they need to support their work including vehicles, a working shed filled with land and sea care equipment, monitoring devices among a range of other tools and necessary equipment for sustainable land management. The Mogo LALC Rangers have been working for years to restore the land, fresh waterways and fish stock and marine environments within their Country in order to increase its resilience. This is now critical to ensure that all fast growing weeds and invasive species are removed to ensure the full health of creeks, wetlands and lagoons are restored to attract local species of fish and local animals. Returning to their Ranger work is also important to ensure that cultural heritage and local knowledge is protected for future generations in the area.

The funds raised by this campaign will also target the crucial environmental management role that the Rangers have played and their ongoing project to re-instate cool burning practices to diminish the impact of bush fires in destroying local plants and animals. Additional funding is needed for the rangers for employment in carrying out on ground work in helping to protect country. This would also support the community, provide employment and enable to carry out surveys on historical Aboriginal Cultural sites to protect them. 

https://mogolalc.weebly.com/rangers.html 

Rebuild the art gallery that was lost in the Land Council fire

Over the last few years, Mogo LALC had developed a small and dynamic art gallery to support local Aboriginal artists. It was a place where community members, especially but not solely women, came together to learn and teach new skills including weaving techniques, painting and wood carving. It enabled the local Aboriginal artists to sell their art work providing economic opportunities directly, alongside a thriving hub of cultural knowledge. The funds will go towards restoring the community art gallery and providing resources for local Aboriginal artists as part of their rebuilding efforts. Providing art material to the local community is one little way to contribute to the healing process.

Thank you for your generous donations!


For more information

Linda Carlson, CEO Mogo Local Aboriginal Land Council 

https://mogolalc.weebly.com/ 
 

More on this bushfire story:

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6563275/mogo-devastated-by-south-coast-bush-fire/?cs=12#slide=0 

https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2020/01/03/all-hell-broke-loose-mogo-aboriginal-community-devastated-bushfire?fbclid=IwAR0i9eV3eERFi4dF4gMpfs50-0PKCs-qjhPj3K0cTKBVMk1_vNXn7JaTPgM 

https://www.facebook.com/nswalc/photos/a.604225882926979/3227818160567725/?type=3&theater   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=HRSH5ZXH03A&fbclid=IwAR2Qr1GsHv8PPfWJimULcyt9-MpGaGKjlnhipj5XBo64eUMfuP_l60zbn38&app=desktop