The 2019–20 bushfire season was the worst on record in NSW, wreaking havoc across the state. Millions of hectares and hundreds of millions of animals were destroyed. Communities across NSW were impacted greatly, with thousands of homes, many livelihoods and, sadly, scores of lives lost. The sheer scale of area burnt, properties and animals destroyed, was heartbreaking.

Samaritan’s Purse responded by deploying our Australian Disaster Relief Unit and a volunteer team to Batemans Bay, 278 km south of Sydney, to meet the needs of bushfire-affected communities along the south coast.

Partnering with local churches in the area, volunteers cleaned properties, felled trees, sifted through ashes, and offered physical and emotional support to hundreds of individuals affected by the fires.