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Australia’s drought-affected farmers are about to benefit from $1 million raised by a 10-year old boy and his classmates.
Jack Berne and his classmates at Sydney’s St John the Baptist Primary School raised the money through ‘A Fiver For A Farmer’ campaign on GoFundMe.
The campaign, which was launched in July, urged people to spare at least $5 to support struggling farming communities.
Jack’s original goal was to raise $200,000.
However, he received overwhelming support, collecting his first million in a little over a month.
The fundraising campaign has not just gained nationwide support but also caught the attention of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Turnbull personally thanked Jack and told him about his sheep and cattle farm.
Jack responded by asking Turnbull for better outcomes for farmers and asked him if he regarded the drought as a national disaster.
In summing up Turnbull’s response to his question Jack commented: “He had a pretty good reason to say no – he said the relief legislation was more designed for disasters like floods and fires.”
Undeterred, Jack made a personal plea to Turnbull to do more to help drought-stricken farmers in rural New South Wales.
Jack, a Year 4 student, says he was inspired to take action after learning about the drought in class.
“We have been learning about the drought and the farmers, and I heard that there are kids that are skipping school to help out on their farms. Kids that are our age!’ Jack wrote on his GoFundMe page.
“If we can raise some money, I think we can all feel better about helping our mates on the farms.
“We believe in community, we believe in having each other’s back, and we believe in the Aussie spirit. We believe that together we can make a huge difference to support the farmers,” he wrote.
All proceeds Jack and his classmates collected will be divided between Rural Aid and Drought Angels.
Source
- Crux Now
- Daily Mail
- Image: Daily Telegraph
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