Exmoor Rotary Club

 

 

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ShelterBoxes

The Shelterbox Trust was initally organised and administered by the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard.

In 2004, the Rotary Club of Exmoor donated the sum of £450 to buy its first shelter box to be used in a disaster area - it was number 1457 and was sent to Uganda. They now cost about £650.

On the right is the "SHELTERBOX" Number 1457 in use in Lira town about 4 hours drive north of Kampala in Uganda.

The boxes were distributed by African charity "All Nations Christian Care and the Rotary Club of Kampala.

Exmoor Rotary's Shelter Box in use in Uganda

Since then - our club has donated a lot more Shelterboxes!

This has been largely thanks to our annual Rotary Community Lunch or Supper in aid of Shelterbox held every year.

Exmoor Rotary - Shelterbox Partner

The current (2023) number of boxes we have supplied is nearly 100! Our boxes have been sent to Bangladesh, Somaliland, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Honduras, Burma, Kenya, Tsunami Disaster, Uganda, and Java to name but a few.


So what is a shelter box?

What do we do when disaster strikes?

Shelterbox

Shelterboxes are kept in readiness to be delivered anywhere in the world

Shelterbox- typical contents

They contain a large tent, sleeping bags, cooker, water purification, warmth, and shelter for 10 people all in one box

Shelterbox

The cost of a shelterbox is £650 - they are purchased as donations are received

Tent

Tents are made from modern, lightweight, but resilient and resistant materials

Earthquake in Iran

Earthquake - Bam in Iran
210 shelterboxes sent

War refugees - Liberia
165 shelterboxes sent

For more information, see www.shelterbox.org


One example: 20 January 2004 REF: 04-81

Rotary world sends relief to victims of Iran quake

Rotary clubs across the world are rallying to the aid of the victims of the devastating earthquake that flattened Bam , Iran , on the night of 26 December 2003 . More than 30,000 residents of the 2,000-year-old city were killed and some 80,000 left homeless by the disaster.

Rotarians in Great Britain and Ireland , Canada and the United States are using the existing disaster response infrastructure of the Rotary Shelter Box initiative to contribute toward the essential needs of survivors. Three days after the disaster struck, UK . and US Rotarians dispatched 110 Rotary Shelter Boxes to Bam through Feed the Children, a UK-registered nonprofit organization.

As its name suggests, a Shelter Box is a survival kit that typically contains a tent, sleeping bags, water purifying tablets, candles, rope, shovel, windup flashlight, cooking pans, and other essential tools and equipment for ten survivors. Each Shelter Box costs on average £460.00.

The Rotary Shelter Box initiative in Canada has since joined the Bam effort and together Rotarians in the three countries sent 100 more kits to Iran on 13 January.

"Rotarians are involved in this important aid project not only because of the obvious benefit to those affected but because it raises the profile of the unstinting service given by Rotarians throughout the world and they see a quick, direct, and tangible benefit for the money and effort they have contributed," says Tom Henderson coordinator of Rotary Shelter Box in Great Britain and Ireland and member of the Helston Lizard Rotary Club. "The magnitude of this disaster is truly of catastrophic proportion. We believe it is important to show that we care about the plight of all peoples in the world regardless of race or creed."

The Rotary Shelter Boxes will provide a temporary roof for homeless families, in addition to furnishing the basics to help them start their lives over. Government and relief agencies in southern Iran say that some 15,000 mobile or makeshift homes are urgently needed.

Closer to Bam, the Rotary and Rotaract clubs of Manama and Sulmaniya , Bahrain , also scrambled to the aid of survivors through the Bahrain Red Crescent Society. "[We] donated 900 blankets, about 400 towels, 700 heaters, four generators, and basic needs like clothing and kitchenware," said Wesam Baqer, president of the Rotaract Club of Manama-Sulmaniya, to the Bahrain Tribune.

Also, District 1160, Ireland , has contributed Euros 6,000 (about £3500) toward the purchase of Rotary Aquaboxes, which Rotary clubs in Ireland and Britain often send to help purify drinking water and thus forestall the outbreak of waterborne diseases following a disaster.


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