ROTARY SUPPORTS HAITI SHELTERBOX PROJECT

 The Rotary Club of Gibraltar has today confirmed that it will be supporting The Haiti disaster relief effort in a very special way. The organisation is working alongside Rotary International and will be funding two of the ‘shelter boxes’ designed to provide warmth and shelter for the displaced Haitians in the country. In addition, Pam Drew, one of the Gibraltar Rotarians will be travelling to the UK headquarters of ShelterBox to help them with their work as a volunteer.

ShelterBox is a Rotary-sponsored international disaster relief charity specialising in emergency shelter provision. Humanitarian aid is delivered in iconic green ShelterBoxes. Each one contains a disaster relief tent for up to 10 people, a stove, blankets and other items essential for survival. ShelterBox responds to disaster as quickly as possible with the aim of helping the people who are most in need.

Every box is individually numbered and can be tracked by donors. Each box costs £490 – including the cost of all materials, packing, storage, transport worldwide and distribution to the needy. Assuming six months’ use, this equates to shelter and warmth for less than 30 pence per person per day.

All aid delivery is undertaken by international volunteer ShelterBox Response Team members who have carried out extensive training with ShelterBox. They are often able to get aid where it is needed faster than any other organisation.

An initiative of Rotarian Tom Henderson OBE, a former Royal Navy search and rescue diver, ShelterBox started in 2000 as a project of the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard, Cornwall. ShelterBox, now the largest Rotary Club project in the world, has responded to disasters including the Indian Ocean Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (Burma). In 2010, ShelterBox will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary.

As regards the Haiti disaster, Rotary President, Raju Alwani remarked that Gibraltar Rotarians are pleased to be involved in the ShelterBox project and will continue to work hard raising funds for ongoing relief.