BRATTLEBORO — The Brattleboro Rotary Club and the Brattleboro Sunrise Rotary Club are digging deep to help surviving victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which ripped through the Philippines Nov. 8, killing thousands.
The clubs donated vital funds to ShelterBox, an international disaster relief organization working to provide shelter and access to clean water and life-saving equipment immediately following large-scale disasters.
When disaster strikes and homes are lost, Rotary clubs are among the first to rise to the occasion, seeking to help disaster victims through a partnership with ShelterBox and its American arm, ShelterBox USA, based in Sarasota, Fla.
The organization sends ShelterBoxes to disaster areas to provide specific relief supplies victims desperately need.
At least 5,000 people died in “Super Typhoon” Haiyan, according to government figures available at press time. The number is expected to climb as victims continue to be pulled from the rubble.
According to U.N. officials, approximately 11 million people have been affected, and many have been left homeless. Reconstruction is estimated at $5.8 billion.
Aid on the way - and already on the ground
According to Brattleboro Rotary Club President Sandy Rouse, a ShelterBox is a large green box, typically weighing 120 pounds, containing a tent that can shelter 10 people, as well as a stove, dishes, pots and pans, a solar light, a water purification system, blankets, and other survival necessities.
It also contains a backpack with coloring books and other activities to keep kids busy in disaster's aftermath.
Rouse noted in a press statement that each ShelterBox is sent out with trained emergency response teams.
“ShelterBox is already on the ground in the Philippines. Team members get the boxes through customs and ensure that they go where they should, help erect the tents and show the people how to use the equipment,” Rouse said.
The initiative began as the project of a Rotary Club in Cornwall, England, in 2000 as a small but growing effort to respond to worldwide needs. Its effectiveness proved remarkable during the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004.
Haiti's 2010 earthquake challenged ShelterBox USA to pursue greater disaster preparedness. When that earthquake struck, fully 28,417 boxes were sent, as were an additional 8,000 tents.
The staggering need in Haiti prompted ShelterBox USA and the Rotary Clubs to reassess their readiness and to set a goal of having sufficient boxes to support 50,000 extended families at any given time.
In 2012, Rotary International named ShelterBox its first project partner in the organization's 108-year history, Rouse said.
According to Brattleboro Sunrise Rotary Club President Jonathan Secrest, the two clubs have donated enough to back two full shelter boxes - serving 20 people - since the typhoon struck.
Nobody should underestimate the dramatic value of these shelters and emergency supplies in saving lives, Secrest suggested. “Although ShelterBox tents are supposed to be temporary, there are people still living in them in Haiti,” he said.
Responding to more than 200 disasters in more than 85 countries, ShelterBox has firmly established itself at the forefront of disaster relief.
ShelterBox says it has deployed 122,000 boxes since 2000, responding to an average 24 disasters a year ranging from earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and tsunamis to manmade disasters.
Rotary International, also known as the Rotary Club, is an international service organization dedicated to bringing together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian services, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.
Its motto is “Service Above Self.”