Expats In UAE Sewing Protective Gear For Rescued Oz Koalas

Expat communities all across the UAE are getting together and sewing blankets and pouches on behalf of the Australian Animal Rescue Craft Guild.

The Australia-based Guild is a volunteer-organised association formed to focus on animal rescue efforts, and is now mobilised in a desperate attempt to save as many species as possible from becoming extinct due to the devastating series of wildfires in south and south-western Australia.

Dubai-based Kiwi expat Philly Johnson is leading the teams making mittens for koala paws, pouches for kangaroo joeys and blankets used to wrap bats and possums. Philly’s group has been going for just eight days and already has 50 expat residents stitching non-stop in the effort to help orphaned and injured animals . Hundreds of pouches and other protective gear have been made to date and shipped straight out to where they’re desperately needed.

Spare as well as newly-bought fabric is being used, as are bed sheets, t-shirts and clothes in order to keep the recipients secure, safe and warm. Facebook groups are now joining in, with Philly telling local reporters around a third of the entire region’s Koala population have died in the fires, part of the one billion animals estimated to have perished in the flames. Anette Carey, another Dubai expat, is using her sewing skills to help, telling local media it’s amazing to see so many people getting together at such a time of need to do their best for Oz's indigenous animal population.