Farmers rejoice after shock massive donation from Muslim community
A small drought-stricken town in Southern Queensland has been overwhelmed with a massive donation of hay and water from the Muslim community in Australia.
Stanthorpe, which was feared to run out of water in December or January, was the recipient of 438 hay bales and 190,000 litres of water.
This was arranged by Muslim Aid Australia and added to their previous and similarly sized donation by the group to the town about a month ago.
The group’s spokesman Riyaad Ally said that fundraising efforts for the drought initiative have been extensive.
"Everybody just wanted to unite. We had really amazing support from not only our donor base, but other organisations' donor bases that all came together," he told 7NEWS.com.au.
Ally said that the group was welcomed with open arms by Stanthorpe residents.
"It was amazing. The people there, they couldn't thank us enough for the support," Mr Ally said.
"At the end of the day, we don't need the thanks. We do this because we love it.”
Last year, Muslim Aid Australia began its extensive work in drought relief when it donated around a dozen truckloads of hay to outback town Goondiwindi that comprised of more than 150 tonnes of hay.
Donors for the town of Stanthorpe included organisations from Turkey and the United Kingdom as well as local mosques and Muslim-run businesses.
"We love to actually be with the people that we're supporting as well,” Ally explained.
"We're all part of the same family and we're all trying to help each other out."