In early January 2020, as Australia's Black Summer bushfires burned across Victoria, a group of women from the Australian Islamic Centre in Melbourne raised about $1,500 and filled five trucks with supplies in roughly 48 hours. They then drove more than four hours east to Johnsonville, in fire-hit East Gippsland, and cooked breakfast for some 150 firefighters. This is how the effort came together, what the fire crews were facing, and what made such a small, practical act resonate so widely.
From an idea to five trucks in two days
The Australian Islamic Centre is a mosque and community hub in Newport, in Melbourne's inner west; its striking building, designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Glenn Murcutt, opened in 2016. Rashid Elhouli, who looked after the centre's online communications, told CNN that planning began on a Thursday after conversations with the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) about what crews and evacuated families actually needed.
The answer was not glamorous: bottled water, milk, baby wipes, fresh fruit and sanitary products. The centre posted an appeal on social media, and donations poured in. On the Friday, after prayers, members ran a sausage sizzle, that great Australian fundraising staple of barbecued sausages in bread.
Volunteers in hijabs serve food behind a stall stacked with donation boxes labelled "Bushfire Appeal". Fundraising stalls like this one helped turn goodwill into cash and supplies within a couple of days.
The money from that sizzle had originally been earmarked for the centre's youth programme. Elhouli said it had been intended for girls' youth activities, and the group chose instead to give it all to the bushfire effort.
Breakfast in Johnsonville
Early on the Saturday the convoy left Melbourne. Johnsonville is a small community of a few hundred people on the Princes Highway, between Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance, roughly 300 kilometres from the city. When the volunteers arrived they set up tables and cooked breakfast for about 150 firefighters, then ran a second cookout with lamb and chicken kebabs, beef sausages and mince.
Volunteers and firefighters gather around a makeshift serving table under a smoky sky. Many of the crews had been working long shifts for weeks by early January, and a hot meal cooked by strangers meant more than the food itself.
Afterwards, MFB crews escorted the group to several locations to unload the rest of the donations. Rodney Baylis, a Johnsonville firefighter, recorded a thank-you video that the centre shared on Facebook. In it he said his captain had "nearly broke into tears" on hearing what the women were bringing.
Women in high-visibility vests sort fresh fruit, bottled water and packaged food at an outdoor station. Practical items like these were what fire services had said they needed most.
What the fire crews were up against
The 2019–20 season, now remembered as the Black Summer, was one of the worst in Australia's recorded history. Around 24 million hectares burned across the country. Thirty-three people died directly in the fires, more than 3,000 buildings were destroyed, including about 2,800 homes, and researchers estimated that around three billion animals were killed or displaced. Smoke was later linked to hundreds of additional deaths.
East Gippsland was one of the hardest-hit regions. On New Year's Eve, fire reached the coastal town of Mallacoota, trapping thousands of residents and holidaymakers on the shoreline; about 1,160 people were evacuated by navy ships a few days later. On 2 January 2020 Victoria's premier, Daniel Andrews, declared a state of disaster covering East Gippsland and several other areas. The breakfast in Johnsonville took place just days after that.
Why this effort worked
Disaster relief experts often say that well-meant donations can become a burden when they do not match what is needed. The centre's approach avoided that trap in three ways:
- They asked first. Contacting the fire brigade before collecting anything meant the supplies matched real needs.
- They brought people as well as goods. Cooking on site gave tired crews a hot meal without adding work for local volunteers.
- They coordinated with officials. MFB escorts meant the trucks reached the right places safely, rather than adding traffic to fire zones.
For anyone wanting to help in a future disaster, the same principles apply: give money to established appeals where possible, check with local services before sending goods, and do not travel into fire areas unless authorities invite you.
Why a hot meal matters on the fire line
Firefighting in a long campaign is exhausting in ways that are easy to underestimate. Crews work in heat, smoke and heavy protective gear, often on long rotations far from home, and many of the people on Victoria's fire grounds that summer were volunteers. Regular food and water help them stay alert and safe, and catering in remote areas is a real logistical challenge. A team that arrives self-sufficient, cooks, cleans up and leaves frees local volunteers to focus on everything else.
A community showing up for neighbours
The volunteers pose under an MFB gazebo in East Gippsland, with the hazy, smoke-filled sky behind them. The Australian Islamic Centre shared photos like this on Facebook to thank the women who organised the drive.
The story spread quickly on social media and was picked up by CNN and outlets around the world. It was one of countless community responses that summer, from small-town food drives to comedian Celeste Barber's Facebook fundraiser, which passed A$26 million in under a week.
The value of this particular effort lay in its ordinariness. A group of women saw a need, organised quickly, and drove four hours to cook breakfast. The centre later praised them on its Facebook page, saying it was proud of its "sisters" for the work they had put in.
Explore the related article: Zane Powles' School-Meal Deliveries During Lockdown.
Sources: CNN via KVIA, 6 January 2020; photographs: Australian Islamic Centre on Facebook; Rodney Baylis's thank-you video (Facebook); Wikipedia: 2019–20 Australian bushfire season; Wikipedia: Johnsonville, Victoria; Wikipedia: Glenn Murcutt.
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