General News
12 June, 2023
Community support overwhelms family
A Wimmera family whose house was destroyed by fire more than two weeks ago has been overwhelmed by support from the community following the tragedy. Wenda Billman and Bruce Satori's home in Jung was destroyed by an electrical fire, with the family...
A Wimmera family whose house was destroyed by fire more than two weeks ago has been overwhelmed by support from the community following the tragedy.
Wenda Billman and Bruce Satori's home in Jung was destroyed by an electrical fire, with the family now displaced.
The family, including Ms Billman and Mr Sartori's sons Jai, 13, and Kayne, 16, and niece and nephew-in-law, Adele Wheeler and Cameron Trask, and their two daughters, has been housed by Uniting Care Wimmera in a motel.
"The help has been unbelivable," Ms Billman said.
"The Murtoa Community Pharmacy sent pizza around to the motel; I don't know where people get these ideas from but they are great.
"People have offered clothes and all that but I've got nowhere to put anything so at the moment not much can be done by anyone until we get a new place.
"It's just nice to know that there's really good humans out there."
Ms Billman said one of their neighbours had also opened his home to the family, offering the use of his shower and bathroom to Ms Billman, who is sleeping in a caravan at the back of her property with her pets.
"As long as the kids have got somewhere comfortable to sleep and something somewhat reasonable, I'm happy to stay here with the animals and keep them happy," she said.
"They've gone through it as well, you know?"
In a gesture to Ms Billman and Mr Sartori's sons Jai and Kayne, who are involved in volleyball, Volleyball Horsham held an event on Sunday, raising $2500 for the family.
Ms Billman also praised the support she had recieved from Vinnies in Horsham and Uniting Care Wimmera.
"I didn't even know half of this help was out there," she said.
"We've been given giftcards to spend in-store at Vinnies, which I'm going to try to keep for when we get somewhere.
"Uniting Care Wimmera has also given us vouchers for food and fuel. They've just been amazing.
"The amount of people that have just come around and just gone 'Here, take this'.
"There have been about five people who have just come up to me and gone 'Here' and given me cash."
Ms Billman and Mr Sartori's neice, Adele, has also set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to help the family get back on its feet, with more than $1600 raised so far.
"One of the first donations was from a 17-year-old who donated $800," Ms Billman said.
"I just couldn't get over that. I mean, he's 17. He could have been saving for his first car; there's stuff he could have been looking forwad to.
"The Murtoa College community has been great. The school has gone above and beyond for the boys: uniforms, shoes, laptops, they've just been so helpful.
"There are some bloody good people out there."