The Australian fires have been on many people’s minds. But one little 6-year-old boy was so affected, he decided to help.

Raising Money For The Australian Fires

When Caitlin Colley told her son about the Australian fires, he became upset. His biggest concern was the animals, and he wanted to know if they were hurt. She told him, ‘yes.’ And he went to his room to draw a picture of a koala, kangaroo, and dingo in the rain. The picture was his wish for rain in the country.

Colley told CNN, “It was really the first time Owen had made a wish for something other than Lego or something other than himself. We asked him if he wanted to help and … together we came up with this. We could make some clay koalas and give them in response to donations from friends and family.” (1)

Clay Koalas For Australian Fires

Owen made little koala out of clay and Caitlin posted on Instagram. They decided to collect donations through Venmo for the Wildlife Rescue South Coast, a wildlife rescue group in New South Wales. Every person who donated $50 would receive one of Owen’s clay koalas.

The Colleys started out with a goal of $1,000, but it grew so quickly that they opened up a GoFundMe campaign. Within one week, they raised $20,000 for the rescue group.

Owen’s father grew up in Australia, and Owen even lived there for a few months as a younger child. So he has a special connection to the country. “I want them to know more about Australia and I want them to know more about what animals are in Australia,” Owen said. (1) “He has a pull to Australia,” Colley said. “He’s very proud of the fact that he lived there. I don’t think he remembers any of it but he’s proud of it.” (1)

Animals Killed In Australian Fires

Scientists say the Australian fires killed 800 million animals and affected a total of one billion animals across the country. The number includes mammals, birds, and reptiles, but not insects, bats, or frogs. The fire started in September 2019, putting Australia’s wildlife under serious threat. Other increasing pressures from land clearing, exotic pests, and climate change have impacted wildlife status. (2) Ecologist Chris Dickman told KOSU, “I think there’s nothing quite to compare with the devastation that’s going on over such a large area so quickly. It’s a monstrous event in terms of geography and the number of individual animals affected.” (3)

Colleys’ Remarkable Contribution

The donations came to the Colleys very quickly, and they intend to fulfill every koala order that came in before January 19, 2020. Caitlin made a little sketch of a koala and created a design that takes him 3 to 4 minutes to make.

“We’re seeing all of the donations coming in and we’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, we don’t have the clay,'” Colley said. “We have every intention to fulfill every koala, it just won’t happen by tomorrow. It’s a 6-year-old using his little hands to make the spaces and the ears, so it does take time.” (1) Owen wants to help more organizations and help animals in Australia and the Colley family is investigating how they can help him do that.