Offering a helping hand, some Australian Muslims have come together to help people affected by bushfires which continue to wreck havoc on many parts of the country, destroying homes and wildlife and affecting the lives of thousands.

In Sydney, a group of Muslims has been praised for donating 36,000 water bottles to firefighters struggling to contain the vicious blazes.

The idea came to Sam Soukie, the head of the Synergy Scaffolding Services, when he heard that someone had travelled down with only a utility filled with water.

“Sam said ‘we’ve got trucks, we should do the right thing, people are suffering,” Synergy spokeswoman Marie told Daily Mail Australia.

“The company went out and purchased the 20 pallets of water and used two Synergy trucks to drive down bushfire affected areas,” she said.

“It’s so beautiful seeing the communities get together and help each other the true Australian way,” Marie said. 

Praying for Rains

In another show of support, a group of Muslims gathered at Bonython Park in Adelaide on Sunday, Jan 5, as part of a public prayer service for rains amid the worsening drought and bushfire crisis

“Today I joined with my Muslim sisters and brothers in Adelaide in prayer for rain,” Priest Patrick McInerney, from the center for Christian and Muslim Relations, said.

Muslim-led Campaign

Three Muslims organizations have also launched a campaign on Launchgood to raise funds for victims of the bushfires.

The collected funds will be distributed by PennyAppeal Australia, Islamic Relief Australia and Merciful Group.

“This collective is committed to working with partners on the ground through needs assessments to administer funds where needed most,” the organizations said in a statement on LaunchGood page.

The initial goal of the campaign is set to $10,000 and will increase as funds are raised.

“Though this is a Muslim-led campaign, we welcome our friends of other faiths to also contribute,” they said.

Human Appeal Australia is a another Muslim organization reaching out to the Muslim community to help ease the suffering of the fire victims who are left in shelters after they lost their homes to fire.

According to the 2016 Australian Census, the number of Muslims in Australia constituted 604,200 people, or 2.6% of the total Australian population, an increase of over 15% of its previous population share of 2.2% reported in the previous census 5 years.

Muslims’ Helping Hand

Muslims have been offering a helping hand to their communities struggling with drought and bushfire.

In December and November, a group of Muslim men drove for five hours to host free barbecue for bushfire victims.

Earlier in November, a Southern Queensland town received a massive donation of tonnes of hay from Muslim Aid Australian charity.

Last year on `Eid Al-Adha day, more than 30,000 Australian Muslims gathered in Sydney to pray for rain and an end to the worst drought in living memory.

In 2016, a big number of Muslim refugees volunteered to help save communities from dangerous bushfires, in an area facing a shortage of fire-fighting volunteers.