To Australia, with love from S Canty
About 30 kilograms of handmade items made with love in South Canterbury have been sent to Australia to help animals injured in bushfires.
Timaru women Silke Schlusnus and Justine Carson-Iles yesterday boxed up hundreds of joey pouches, bat wraps and crocheted birds nests, all put together by people throughout the region, and posted them to the Victoria-based Australian Animal Rescue.
The country’s fires are some of the worst seen in decades, killing 27 people and more than 1 billion animals and destroying thousands of homes.
Schlusnus said South Canterbury residents had donated handmade goods through collection points at the Timaru and Geraldine libraries and through workshops at Timaru Sewing Centre.
‘‘I talked to Justine [who was making bat wraps] and then asked the library to be a collection point for handmade items,’’ she said.
‘‘Then I talked to Linda [Timaru Sewing Centre owner] and she embraced the idea of doing something.
‘‘Linda has been amazing.’’
Through the sewing centre’s workshops, 88 items including 11 wallaby day bags, eight kangaroo day bags, 12 3D lined joey bags for wallabies, nine 3D lined joey bags for kangaroos, six flat bat wraps, 40 inner pouches of different sizes and two extra large 3D lined joey bags, were added to the donation post.
‘‘I saw what they had done at the sewing centre and just thought ‘wow’.’’
Schlusnus said the small idea of helping the animals quickly ‘‘took on its own life’’.
‘‘That’s what I like about Timaru. You get people talking and someone says ‘we can do this’ and ‘we can do that’.
‘‘If you want to make something happen you get people together.’’
Schlusnus said another example of the community’s spirit was the fact many had also donated to the cost of sending the items overseas – $270.
She said the project had not been about individuals, instead the community ‘‘has done all this’’.
‘‘It has been awesome to see,’’ Schlusnus said.