THERE is no denying the generosity of rural Western Australians.
When the football club needs new jerseys or the primary school needs a new playground, local communities dig into their pockets and get the job done.
Or how about when fellow farmers, both in WA and interstate, are affected by drought?
Well there's an entire charity - Farmers Across Borders - which delivers them hay and makes sure their animals get fed.
But how about at an international level?
Do WA farmers give as freely to those going through hardship on the other side of the world?
According to Opportunity International Australia State manager Kieran Johnson, the answer is a resounding yes, with rural WA full of the most generous people he knows.
With such a globalisation over the past decade, there has been a growing movement for people to think internationally, rather than just domestically, and that has been spurred further by a pandemic which affected the entire world.
While it may be a cliché, the rise of the internet has also contributed as there is so much information out there and people find out about events and issues as soon as they occur, leading to a deeper understanding of just how interconnected the world is.
"Farmers aren't suddenly waking up and realising they all of a sudden care about other people," Mr Johnson said.
"Those local farming communities have always given to each other, they've always been caring and generous.
"But those people are now just more aware than ever before that there are other people out there they can care about too."
However, there is a second piece to the generosity puzzle and at first glance it would appear a bit controversial.
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Foreign aid is good for our farmers.
A lot of people question why Australia gives away billions of dollars in foreign aid when there are people struggling closer to home.
But when you zoom out and look at it from an economic perspective, it actually makes a lot of sense.
Australia exports more than $430 billion worth of goods to the rest of the world, with much of that going to Asia.
That's something farmers in WA are well aware of with the vast majority of grain being exported overseas.
A lot of the countries which Australia exports to are still third world, but imagine if every country in Asia had worked their way out of poverty and had the capacity to purchase more.
"If we have more countries overcoming poverty, creating extra income, then all of a sudden we have hundreds of millions of new potential customers for our products," Mr Johnson said.
"History shows us that a richer Japan equals a richer world - what about a richer Indonesia, or India, or Pakistan?
"We are leaving money on the table."
Countries such as Thailand and South Korea were once aid recipients and are now among Australia's 10 biggest trade partners.
The more money put in the places which are so close to Australia, the better off farmers would be.
"Take Indonesia, for example, the more money that we can put towards their education system, creates a better educated society, increased economic growth and a more stable region," Mr Johnson said.
"We know that Indonesia will become the 4th biggest economy in the world over the next 20 years, so it makes economic sense to help end poverty there.
"Surely we can all agree that increased economic growth and stability in Indonesia and the Asian region as a whole is a good thing?"
Somewhere along the lines it was decided that if people got something in return for being generous, then that wasn't okay.
For some reason it was thought that for an act to be a good thing to do then we should receive no benefit from it at all.
However, there is no such thing as a selfless gift as there is a psychological, emotional and physical response that a person gets when they do that.
That's not a bad thing and people should feel good about doing a good thing.
"To get the true benefits of generosity for your mental health it is best to be generous on purpose," Mr Johnson said.
"Be intentional with who and what you are giving to."
