Giants lend a hand in Brisbane

Article from gwsgiants.com.au

Queensland’s most recent flood crisis saw devastation and despair spread across the state. At the height of the floods, 11,900 homes and 25,000 businesses were completely flooded. The death toll is tragically standing at 18.

Witnessing this devastation, former Queensland resident, Israel Folau, felt compelled to lend a hand. Within four hours of making the decision to help, Izzy organised for himself and three GIANTS team mates, Adam Treloar, Mark Whiley and Jack Hombsch, to fly to Brisbane and start assisting with the flood relief. The players helped the Red Cross in Brisbane from Friday January 14 until Sunday January 16.

Adam Treloar caught up with GWSGIANTS.com.au on his return to offer a first hand account of what the boys went through. Adam talked through the experience, detailing the players’ movements over the weekend, what he saw and what he learnt from volunteering during the crisis.

Click here to view the photos from the Giants’ efforts in Brisbane.

“We decided to go up to Queensland to see what we could do to help out. We wanted to show that as individuals and as a club, that we aren’t just interested in ourselves. We really want to help out other people who need it and give something back.

“I saw it as a chance to put myself in a situation that I’d never been in before; I thought that it would be a bit of an eye opener for me and an experience that I would never forget.

“When we arrived we checked into our hotel and then jumped straight in a taxi and went to the RNA Showgrounds. We met some of the Brisbane players there and walked around and chatted to people for a while.

“We spent most of the day helping the Red Cross to pack up beds. When people left the Showgrounds for the day, most of them didn’t know if they would be coming back that night so we packed all the beds up and moved them to the ground floor.

“At night we helped the Red Cross with serving meals. We served about 13,000 people on Friday night. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life, people were just so hungry.

“They seemed happy that we were there to help them and to talk to them but they were more thankful for some food. It was a real eye opener for me, I eat three times a day and some of these people hadn’t had anything to eat in three days. It was shocking; I can’t really imagine not having anything at all to eat.

“Everyone was full of spirit and very positive which was incredible to see as well.

“The experience has made me want to be ready and prepared. You don’t expect that a disaster like that is going to happen and if it ever does, I want to have some things ready to grab and take with me.

“This experience has taught me that you should never take your family and friends and everything that you have for granted because you just don’t know how lucky you are until it is gone.”