"ARMS" MAKE MOST OF AUSSIES' HEART TO LEND A HAND...

Hospital equipment, medical supplies, office furniture and building materials are gathered from across the region by Australian Relief and Mercy Services for shipment to Christian ministries around the world, to help present "the two-handed gospel".
During the past 18 months, the small group has sent urgently-needed medicine and materials to countries in Africa and Asia, and to the Pacific islands - all of it surplus goods donated free of charge.
But the shipments to date - already totaling several hundred thousand dollars - are only scratching the surface, according to executive director Roger Dart, a retired businessman.
"Australians are the most generous people in the world. There's a history of supporting the underdog in this country, which is rich in resources. As more people learn about the opportunities to help others in need the possibilities are endless," he said.
ARMS supplies currently come from pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and building supply firms across the state of Victoria, which give the organization first pick of unwanted or obsolete goods. Volunteer doctors and nurses assess the quality of the supplies, and then try to match the stock with requests from overseas workers.
"We make sure it isn't so outdated that it is of no use, but the problem tends to be the other way round - even though it may be old here, sometimes equipment is still so new for people in other countries that they don't know how to use it," said Dart.
That has led to ARMS - an arm of Youth With A Mission - planning to recruit volunteers to accompany shipments to help with delivery, installation and training.
Among the more unusual shipments, ARMS workers packed off tool kits to Mozambique for Christian workers to teach vocational skills to street children, and a hearing aid sound booth to a missionary hospital in Vanuatu.
The 18,000 square foot ARMS warehouse - given by the Melbourne Port Authority for a peppercorn rent - also houses piles of hospital beds, walking frames, wheelchairs, ward blinds, porcelain sinks, desks, medicine cupboards and tables.
As well as collecting donations, ARMS workers also go out looking for contributions to specific requests for help - such as the string-pull solar shower unit requested by missionaries building a clinic in Zambia, where water has to be carefully conserved.
"We live in an increasingly throwaway society, so it is good to be able to take things that can still be used and send them where they are desperately needed. That's good stewardship," said Dart.
"It also helps others present the two hands of the gospel. Caring for someone's practical needs - through feeding them or housing them or caring for their health - is a practical demonstration of the gospel, and provides an opportunity for someone to talk about Christ to a person who might not otherwise be ready to hear."
In other parts of the country, ARMS projects include a home help service for families in crisis, and special training in health care for YWAM workers going to the developing world.