Guyra Rotary Club has donated $1,200.00 to provide a ShelterBox for people left homeless as a result of the recent devastating earthquakes in Haiti.
Thousands of people are moving into camps with hundreds of ShelterBox tents in Port au Prince and other towns in Haiti. These camps will allow the earthquake victims to stay close to their communities and carry on with their daily lives.
What is a ShelterBox?
At the heart of every ShelterBox is a ten-person tent which is designed to withstand extreme temperatures, high winds and heavy rainfall.
Internally, each tent has privacy partitions that allow recipients to divide the space as they see fit.
In addition to the tent, the boxes contain a range of other survival equipment including thermal blankets and insulated ground sheets, essential in areas where temperatures plummet at nightfall.
Where malaria is prevalent mosquito nets are supplied, as well a life saving means of water purification. Water supplies often become contaminated after a major disaster, as infrastructure and sanitation systems are destroyed and this presents a secondary but no less dangerous threat to survivors than the initial disaster itself.
A basic tool kit containing a hammer, axe, saw, trenching shovel, hoe head, pliers and wire cutters can be found in every box. These items enable people to improve their immediate environment, by chopping firewood or digging a latrine, for example. Then, when it is possible, to start repairing or rebuilding the home they were forced to leave.
Every box also contains a children’s pack containing drawing books, crayons and pens. For children who have lost most, if not all, their possessions, these small gifts are treasured.
Every item is durable, practical and brand new. The box itself is lightweight and waterproof and has been used for a variety of purposes in the past – from water and food storage containers to a cot for a newly born baby.
A key piece in every box is either a wood burning or multi-fuel stove - that can burn anything from diesel to old paint. This provides the heart of the new home where water is boiled, food is cooked and families congregate. In addition, there are pans, utensils, bowls, mugs and water storage containers.
Emergency Shelter
Families with newborn babies and pregnant women have been given emergency shelter by the ShelterBox Response Team operating in Haiti.
The Response Team have set up a ShelterBox camp for up to 1,000 people on the Henfrasa sports field in Delmas, Port au Prince, Haiti, providing emergency shelter for the most in need and the most vulnerable.
ShelterBox Response Team member and General Manager Lasse Petersen said: “We agreed with the local community that the initial tent allocation would be for families with pregnant women and families with newborns.
“We’re prioritising women and children, providing disaster relief tents, blankets, water containers, children’s packs and kitchenware, basically enough to set up families who have lost everything.”
(Information from www.shelterbox.org)
How did Shelterbox begin?
ShelterBox was founded by Tom Henderson, a Rotarian and former United Kingdom Royal Navy search and rescue diver.
He saw that the aid response to most disasters was in the form of food and medicine to help people survive the immediate aftermath.
Little or no assistance was given in terms of proper shelter to help them through the first few days, weeks and months as they tried to rebuild their lives. ShelterBox was launched to fill that void.
In 1999, Tom started researching the idea, sourcing equipment and twisting arms to get the project off the ground. His persistence paid off in April 2000 when ShelterBox was launched and the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard in Cornwall adopted it as its millennium project. Little did they know that it would become the largest Rotary club project in the world, with affiliates in eight countries.
ShelterBoxes have now been sent to every continent, responding to earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, typhoons, hurricanes, volcanoes and conflicts.
Would you like to help?
If you would like to contribute to Rotary’s projects or help towards the cost of another ShelterBox please send your donation to:
Guyra Rotary Club, PO Box 91, Guyra 2365 or call in to the Argus office.
All donations of $2.00 or more are tax deductible.
See a ShelterBox:
Rotary will have a ShelterBox on display at the Markets this Sunday, February 7.
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