Thank you to Jacqueline Cassel-Cramer for the idea and the Australian High Commission in Ottawa for this list of some of the main organisations supporting communities impacted by the fires. If you want to make a donation, please click on the link provided and contact these organisations directly:

• Australian Red Cross
• The Salvation Army
• NSW Rural Fire Service
• Country Fire Authority of Victoria
• South Australian Country Fire Service
• WIRES (injured animals)

Tax-deductable donations can NOW also be made through the Canadian Red Cross – https://www.redcross.ca/ or 1-800-418-1111 (donor relations office).

Kookaburra perched on a burnt tree in the aftermath of a bushfire in Wallabi Point, Australia, on November 12, 2019. Photo: ADAM STEVENSON/Reuters.

Local Aussie Phoebie Peters was interviewed by Caitlyn Gowriluk at CBC Manitoba about the bushfires in Australia.

You can read the entire piece at “Houses, memories gone in ‘blink of an eye’: Fires spark worry for Australian expat in Winnipeg“.

Phoebie is an apprentice tattoo artist at Rising Phoenix Body Art on Winnipeg’s Sherbrook Street, and providing one of six designs for $50 a piece — koalas, wombats and kangaroos. Half the proceeds are going to WIRES — NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service Inc. — that has been rescuing and caring for native animals for more than 30 years, and is currently working with animals affected by the fires.

Visit Phoebie for a tattoo — “We plan on doing this until Australia is no longer burning” — or make a direct donation to WIRES.

Thanks to CBC Manitoba for doing the article, and to all Canadians who have reached out with their concerns, their donations, and their help.

Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Kudos to DUCW member Charlie Powell for penning and posting this ode to the Aussie firefighters currently battling the blazes in Australia.

Although some rain has fallen – a gift from Mother Nature on Christmas Day, perhaps? – the fires are not out yet, and the firefighters still need your help.

If you would like to donate, The Guardian has provided a list of the best ways to contribute to the firefighting and recovery effort.

Good on ya, Charlie!

The Aussie Firefighters (to the tune: Lili Marlene)

Here’s to the men and women battling ev’ry blaze
Haven’t slept at home in over 40 days
Can’t think of quitting, can’t turn their backs,
Can’t see an end, and can’t relax –
They are the Firefighters down in Australia.

There’s graziers and farmers and the city folk
Can’t tell the difff’rence peering thru this smoke
They-just-want-to-keep the fires at bay,
and so we pray it’ll rain one day –
They are the Firefighters down in Australia.

And Mates have come to join them from way across the pond
Kiwis and Canadians – they’ve struck up quite a bond
They’ll fight together, beat this thing
While embers sting, we all can sing –
They are the Firefighters down in Australia.

Sunsets look so pretty, don’t they through the haze
But not so very pleasant when breathing it for days
Can’t get no respite, this flamin’ thief!
There’s no relief, so says their Chief.
They are the Firefighters down in Australia.

While you enjoy your beaches and frolic in the surf
Or hit that little golfball and chase it ‘cross the turf
At shopping mall or tennis court
Please spare a thought, don’t leave them short.
They are the Firefighters down in Australia.

All across the country, from Brisbane ‘round to Perth
Never seen the likes of it anywhere on Earth!
Climate change or just a phase – quite the big debate
Please just donate* and help your mate!
They are the Firefighters down in Australia.

Charlie – in Winnipeg – December 21, 2019