A personal plea on behalf of bushfire victims in Victoria, Australia

As a the world gets smaller and we feel more globally connected, I find that we now more often know someone personally affected by a tragedy. So it is with the worst wildfires in Australian history. Police have so far confirmed 181 deaths as the fires ripped across the southern state of Victoria on Saturday. But the state's premier, John Brumby, said more than 50 people remained missing Tuesday afternoon.

Here's a personal letter I received from a business friend this morning. I hope you'll join me in responding to her request for a Red Cross donation -- as well as for thoughts and prayers for those affected.


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Dear Mark,

I am taking a minute to email all of my connections in relation to the horrific Bushfire situation in Victoria, Australia.

I live in the township of Cockatoo, Victoria. On the weekend I evacuated my young family ahead of the warnings. Thankfully our area was spared this time around, however many areas weren't.

The current situation is that there are 25 fires still burning out of control and a total 152 fires burning in Victoria yet to be declared safe, 173 people are confirmed dead and over 750 homes lost, 3,218 km² of land burnt, and still more to come.

I personally have dear friends still missing in Kinglake and Narbethong, including two children aged 6 and 3, and several other friends are thankfully safe, but without homes.

I am making a heartfelt appeal to anyone who can spare a few dollars to please make a donation to the Australian Red Cross, Victorian Bushfire Appeal 2009 on this link, every single dollar counts.

https://www.redcross.org.au/Donations/onlineDonations.asp


Thank you for your consideration and for sparing a thought for all who have lost beloved ones, animals, homes and memories.


Kind regards,

Katherine


PS: Here are two pictures that show how close the fires are to me.


Cockatoo

The view from my home this morning looking toward Bunyip State Forest (8km away); as you can see there are still fires burning, so a wind change in our direction would mean we too would lose our home.