The Project’s Hamish Macdonald stunned by viewers’ reaction to drought story

The Project’s Hamish Macdonald was visibly stunned when he revealed how viewers reacted to a story that aired 15 minutes earlier.

A drought-affected farming family from NSW finally has a reason to smile again thanks to The Project viewers.

The Jerry family, who run a wool and cattle property near Coonabarabran in central NSW, was featured in a story on Sunday night’s episode that detailed their struggle to survive as they enter the third year of a drought.

The moving story was presented by The Project’s Hamish Macdonald, who visited the farm and spoke to the family who are at breaking point.

“Mentally and the stress of it, it’s just, I’m not sleeping properly at night, waking up and trying to work out a way to get through,” Greg Jerry told Macdonald.

Thank you to everyone who has donated to the Jerrys so far, and thanks to @hamishNews for continuing to cover such an important story . These Aussie's doing it tough are the pinnacle of resilience.

To donate please head to: https://t.co/NPhhnc4srU pic.twitter.com/j6f1zDWaA8

— The Project (@theprojecttv) August 18, 2019

The family is paying $12,000 a month just to keep their animals alive, but as the drought drags on, the Jerrys don’t think they can last much longer.

After airing the story, Macdonald told viewers the Jerry family was thrilled the drought was covered heavily in the media last year, but they now felt like they’d been forgotten.

“They said, ‘We feel like everyone looked at us for a week, maybe a month, and then they forgot and just moved on with their lives’,” Macdonald said. “The journalists came, the politicians followed and then we all disappeared and just left them to it.”

Macdonald encouraged viewers to donate to the Jerry family via a GoFundMe page named Hungry Cobber Drought Relief.

80-year-old Coral Jerry works from dawn til dusk on the farm.

Before the end of the show, Macdonald was visibly stunned when he told viewers how much had been donated to the Jerry family since the story aired just 15 minutes earlier.

“I’ve got to say I’m a little bit surprised at this,” Macdonald said. “Apparently the GoFundMe page was at $2000 as that story went to air. It’s now sitting just shy of $130,000!”

Less than an hour later, more than $200,000 had been raised on the page, which was set up by family friends of the Jerrys, with all the money going directly to the Jerrys to cover the farm’s operating expenses.

Those who set up the page issued a statement on Sunday night thanking everyone for their donations.

“I’d like to pass on our sincerest thanks to all of you who have supported us this evening. This response is overwhelming and such a huge relief. Thanks doesn’t convey the depth of our appreciation.

“As well as your amazing donations, we’ll never forget the messages of support below — you’ve made us realise that we are not as alone, even in barest of paddocks. Thankyou.”

Thank you @theprojecttv for keeping your promise to return to my hometown and shining a light on the immense struggle our farmers face every day. Coona and its surrounds have been in #drought for as long as I can remember. It's heart-breaking

— Kristen Amiet (@KrissiAmiet) August 18, 2019