Former US President Barack Obama has publicly praised a Melbourne activist for her work in preserving food for bushfire victims.
‘Here’s the thing, even with problems of this magnitude, each of us can still find a way to make change’ the respected leader wrote on Twitter.
Former US president Barack Obama pictured in 2015 when he was the incumbent. Mr Obama has personally praised a Melbourne woman for her efforts to help bushfire victims
Alice Mahar talking to the ABC from inside the converted shipping container where her volunteer group preserves excess fruit into jams, preserves and chutney
‘That’s why I’m proud of young people like Alice Mahar, a environmental activist in Melbourne.’
The Melbourne activist came to the attention of the former US president after she joined the Obama Foundation’s Asia-Pacific Leadership program.
Mr Obama, who still refers to himself as ‘President’ on his website, is nurturing 200 future leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region through a year-long program which began with a five-day conference last month.
Mr Obama – himself a community organiser before he became a politician – had warm words of praise for Ms Mahar in a special bulletin devoted to the Australian bushfire crisis posted on his Obama Foundation website earlier this month.
‘In the wake of destruction, brave firefighters, community leaders, and everyday people have stepped up to do their part to support those impacted by the fires,’ the Obama Foundation update said.
‘That includes one of our Asia-Pacific Leaders, Alice Mahar … Alice’s strong belief in the power of people to take simple actions to create change is pushing her forward during this arduous relief and recovery effort.’
Alice Mahar caught the eye of the former US President for her leadership potential after taking part in the Obama Foundation’s Asia-Pacific Leadership program
The Corner Store volunteers hard at work preserving food for bushfire ravaged communities, in a picture uploaded to Facebook on Friday
The Corner Store posted this picture in September from Dili, capital of East Timor, one of the world’s poorest countries, where women are preserving fruit to combat food insecurity
Ms Mahar said in the Obama Foundation post that the bushfire crisis was ‘a marathon’, and that her non-profit organisation, The Corner Store Network, would take action for years to come.
Ms Mahar started The Corner Store Network in February last year in a converted shipping container in Melbourne’s southeastern suburb of Oakleigh.
The non-profit organisation is dedicated to eliminating food waste by preserving excess food.
‘Do you have an abundance of fruit or veg growing in your garden?’ she wrote on Facebook back in February.
‘Our new preservation initiative has begun but we need more produce … Please share with your family and friends and join our fight against food waste and hunger.’
The Corner Store Network volunteers have since turned more than 500kg of donated fruit including limes, apples, citrus, chillies or plums into jams, chutneys and preserves.
The non-profit branched into Australia’s impoverished northern neighbour, East Timor, where it turned two shipping containers into commercial kitchens complete with food-preservation equipment, at a cost of $60,000 each, ABC News reported.
‘We call it a social enterprise in a box, it opens up almost like a flat pack, and then local women, primarily, are trained in how to preserve that food,’ Ms Mahar said.
Ms Mahar hopes to bring the program to up to 60 more East Timorese communities, where food insecurity is a major issue.
The group also sells fair-trade coffee beans from East Timor to benefit coffee farmers in the impoverished nation.
During the recent bushfire crisis, The Corner Store turned its talents to helping communities destroyed by fire.
The group began producing food for communities to use during the long rebuilding process.
‘We can’t go and fight fires, we can’t go and rescue animals but what we can do is we can get as much food as possible, we can preserve it and we can donate it to those areas,’ Ms Mahar told the ABC.
Ms Mahar said she knew people needed monetary donations so the food would be stored until it is wanted and needed.