District Rotarians Serve with ShelterBox in Indonesia
Posted by John Borst
on Nov 14, 2010
Rotarians Ron and Claire Noseworthy from the Rotary Club of Kenora have been deployed to Indonesia by ShelterBox to help provide disaster relief after the recent tsunami and ongoing volcanic eruptions have left thousands of people homeless.Ron and Claire are both trained as
members of the ShelterBox Response Team (SRT). They will join other SRTs
who are distributing aid to families who have lost everything. We wish
them safe deployments.
Ron Noseworthy is
also Chair of the new Board of Directors for ShelterBox Canada. This is
the 6th. deployment with ShelterBox for Ron and the 3rd. deployment for
Claire as SRTs.
SRT members from Australia, Canada, France, the UK and the USA
are all currently working in Indonesia alongside ShelterBox’s Indonesian
affiliate.
Hundreds of families lost their homes in the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia when an undersea earthquake triggered a deadly tsunami at the end of October. The wave washed up to 600m inland in places, completely destroying a number of villages. This is somewhat ironic because the Mentawai Islands are famous for their waves and a major tourist destination of surfers. (see slides and video)
After weather delays the first 50 ShelterBoxes were distributed. A further 461 ShelterBoxes are enroute to the islands. Families in the Mentawai Islands once again have a place to call home thanks to ShelterBox. Distribution is difficult as access to the islands is incredibly challenging. The ShelterBoxes were delivered by air to the Padang airport, loaded onto trucks, then boats. To land the boxes, they were transferred to small boats in small numbers and carried through the sea to land. They then had to transport them as far as 1km inland to reach the affected areas. Local villagers are helping them with this.
ShelterBox currently has ShelterBox Response Teams operating in Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Haiti, Mexico and St Lucia. This global network of volunteers is vital in supporting the delivery of aid for ShelterBox
This is what ShelterBox is all about. People the world over are pulling together to go the extra mile and provide emergency aid to families in need wherever they may be. That is why District 5550 is a big supporter of ShelterBox.
Donations to ShelterBox can be made through the District 5550 World Community Services Foundation. Click HERE to download a donation form.
For more on this story visit HERE
For more information on ShelterBox Canada visit www.shelterboxcanada.org