NEWSLETTER
ISSUE 1 2015
WELCOME
Alison accepts a donation from Cober Valley Rotarians
ShelterBox is now fifteen years old. Over the last decade and a half it has enjoyed many alliances and friendships with like-minded groups, with other agencies and charities. But it has forged no stronger link than that with Rotary ... ... from its beginnings as a Rotary millennium project, through the growth of a worldwide affiliate network based on Rotary contacts abroad, to its official adoption in 2012 as Rotary International’s first and only Project Partner. Now, this March, we share the good news that our unique partnership has been extended into 2016. This recognises that Rotary and ShelterBox together make a great team, able to reach out across borders to help shelter families in need. But the continuation of this partnership is also a simple gesture between friends, a commitment that we will continue to stand beside each other for the greater good. In my various roles across the third sector I have hardly found a more enduring and worthwhile pact, which we celebrate in this edition of the Newsletter. And, talking of enduring and endearing friendships, in this issue we profile David Hatcher. David is a distinguished Rotarian and former policeman, and supports ShelterBox as a response team member. But he is also one of our very committed speakers, passing
his knowledge and enthusiasm on to many audiences – school pupils, community groups, ShelterBox trainees. No ShelterBox Newsletter would be complete without insights into our deployments, their challenges and their successes. Flooding puts thousands of families in peril all over the world, and our reports will take you from Malawi to Nepal to Madagascar to the rain forests of Malaysia. And you might have thought ShelterBox would have little to offer a medical epidemic such as Ebola. Share our excitement, then, as a helicopter touches down in Sierra Leone with a cargo of SchoolBoxes for Ebola orphans. Partnership and friendship. They really can change the world.
Alison Wallace, Chief Executive, ShelterBox ShelterBox and Rotary are official project partners in international disaster relief
CONTENTS PG 3 Meet David Hatcher PG 5 Troubled waters | floods deployments worldwide PG 9 Rotary and ShelterBox PG 11 Ebola airlift | SchoolBoxes in Sierra Leone PG 12 Gaza | tents among the ruins PG 13 You can help our work live on | legacy giving PG 14 Working undercover | Shelter Kits explained
In Peru ShelterBox response team member Rachel Simpkins was helped by local Iquitos Rotarians responding to Amazon flooding.
KEEP IN TOUCH: T: 01326 569782 E: info@shelterbox.org ShelterBox: Water-ma-Trout, Helston, Cornwall, TR13 0LW Compiled by: Mark Nicholson marknicholson@shelterbox.org Charity No: 1096479 Company No: 4612652 President: HRH The Duchess of Cornwall ShelterBox is a Charity independent of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation.
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‘IT’S BETTER TO DO SOMETHING THAN DO NOTHING’
David Hatcher - Rotarian, former policeman and long time ShelterBox response team volunteer - has lived up to his own personal mantra, with a life full of very significant somethings. Here David describes how he has been motivated to ‘do the most for the most’ in disaster front lines.
One of ShelterBox’s core strengths is the calibre of its response team members. In a state of constant readiness, not unlike retained firefighters, they stand by awaiting the call to leave their jobs, homes and families at short notice to rush to parts of the world where a cry has gone out for help. You’d have thought that someone like David Hatcher, with his 40 year police career, including secondment to the Met and as Area Commander for SE England, who has dealt with major disasters such as the Zeebrugge Ferry tragedy and the Paddington and Potters Bar train crashes, and reported regularly to millions of TV viewers over 15 years on BBC Crimewatch, would be prepared for anything. Not so. ‘I thought this would be an extension of that experience. How wrong I was.’ David vividly recalls visiting Haiti for ShelterBox shortly after its devastating earthquake in January 2010. ‘What mother nature can deliver is massively greater than the sort of domestic incidents that I had assumed warranted the description of ‘disaster’ in the UK.’ ‘This was bigger than anything I had imagined. At times we’d been building tents all day and thought we were making progress, only to look up and see thousands more families as far as the eye could see, living under linen sheets held up by sticks in the rains that were just beginning at night. At such times I ran the mantra through my head that ‘it’s better to do something than do nothing, it’s better to do something than do nothing’.’ David recollects feeling privileged to be able to help. ‘The fulfilment of seeing a family cherish what donors have sent them is indescribable.’ Time and again, he has found that giving is its own reward. He remembers in Brazil a father suddenly panicked as the
ShelterBox tent was erected, and he saw all the equipment in the box. ‘He shouted ‘Stop, stop!’ When asked what the problem was he said ‘I can’t afford this’. At that point I explained, ‘Daniel, this is a gift that someone on the other side of the world has sent to you and your family in your hour of greatest need – I’m merely the courier and this is a gift from them to you’. ‘Needless to say he and his wife broke down in tears that anyone could be so generous. After we’d all had a good cry, we got on with helping more families just like them.’ David has often found himself in the vanguard of ShelterBox responses to disaster. ‘We’ll be identifying recipient communities, and what ShelterBox aid is appropriate – do they need all the equipment in the boxes, just tents, just the new repair kit option – or a combination of all three? Our mission is to do the most for the most.’ A distinguished Rotarian since 1990 (former President of the Rotary Club of Medway and holder of the Paul Harris Fellowship), David has organised charity fundraising, holidays
for youngsters with disabilities, and in 2009 founded a scheme for providing residents of children’s homes with Disney holidays. He also started his own business specialising in people development, media training and emergency planning training, lecturing for the National Emergency Planning College, even running courses for the Cabinet Office. Although retired since 2004, David is frequently on the road as one of ShelterBox’s busiest public speakers. And, of course, as one of our most experienced response team members. How do all the pieces of this frantic life fit together? ‘We all do what we consider to be important and which satisfies our needs. Mine is to help other people. So most of my time, outside of supporting my family, is given over to finding the best way of doing just that. I think the saying ‘if you want something done, give it to a busy person’ is an absolute truism. I tend to lead my life thinking I can always fit something else in.’
If you would like to know more about joining the ShelterBox team go to www.shelterbox.org and click on ‘be involved’. 4
The astonishing power of water. After monsoon flooding, Ismail Nick Mustafa and his family returned to their village at Bertam Lama in Malaysia to find a neighbour’s house deposited on top of their own home. ShelterBox has provided a tent for them while the community helps dismantle and then rebuild.
TROUBLED WATERS
2015 arrived like a deluge, with record flooding in many parts of the world, and hundreds of thousands of people fleeing monsoons, rainstorms and rising rivers.
Main picture: ShelterBoxes make a perilous journey across a fast-flowing river in the Zomba region of Malawi, en route to the village of Makawa
Every type of disaster brings its own trials. But flooding brings a unique combination of challenges, both to its victims and to those who seek to help them. The onset of a flood can be so swift that people barely escape with their lives, let alone any possessions. They end up dispersed across wide inaccessible areas, often far from communications and easy rescue, without power, drinking water or sanitation, and vulnerable to disease. Schools and public buildings may be pressed into service as
emergency shelters, but conditions are usually grim. Family members may be separated, some of them grieving lost ones. Then, when floodwaters recede people are naturally drawn to return to their homes, often against official advice, but find them uninhabitable and awash with mud. The sense of shock, loss and distress caused by flooding is immense. (continued overleaf)
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Rivers in spate and landslides - just some of the dangers faced in Nepal as ShelterBox reached out to stricken Himalayan villagers.
• 2014 - ShelterBox responded to flooding across South America in Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. In Europe to Bosnia & Hertzegovina and Serbia. In Asia at the ‘roof of the world’, with floods and landslides in the Himalayan country of Nepal. Also North Korea, Pakistan and Indonesia. In Africa, Niger was hit, and communities in Zimbabwe saw their farmland submerged under waters rising behind the partially-damaged Tokwe-Mukorsi dam. • As 2015 arrived SE Asia and SW Africa became the focus. In January ShelterBox rapidly deployed to Malaysia, one of the first aid agencies on the scene as the worst monsoon rains for decades engulfed villages and rain forest communities, and displaced almost a quarter of a million. On arrival
ShelterBox was honoured with a personal welcome by the Malay Prime Minister Najib Razak. Then, in Africa river systems in Mozambique and Malawi burst their banks as a month’s worth of rain fell in 24 hours, claiming 170 lives. ShelterBox teams delivering a huge aid response reported that malaria was rife, and there were even reports of crocodile attacks. ShelterBox also took a lead role in the official cluster of Shelter Aid Providers with one of its Operations Coordinators seconded to the international team. The giant island of Madagascar was next to suffer floods as Tropical Storm Chedza left 45,000 people homeless. Tents were distributed in the western region of Menabe and in the Madagascan capital of Antananarivo.
After the flood - the amazing portability of a ShelterBox Reaching the parts others might not reach, ShelterBox aid is very portable, and can be transported to flood victims across damaged roads, swollen rivers, up mountainsides and into rain forests.
‘There’s just me.’ The widow who survived the monsoon flood faces an uncertain future. eight hours away in Kula Lumpur. He would come at the weekend to help her, but for now she was reliant on friends.’
When your life lies in flood-soaked ruins, the outlook can be bleak. Putting up a ShelterBox tent for a lonely lady seems so little, but means so much. In Malaysia ShelterBox response team volunteer Dave Nichols (USA) and his colleagues found an older lady, sitting on the stoop of her destroyed house. Dave says, ‘There was pooled water all around her. The water line was still running and hadn’t been clipped off yet.’ ‘We asked her how many people, and she said ‘There’s just me’. We asked about supporting family. Her husband had died a few years before, and her son was working
Dave and the team set to, making a safe pitch for a ShelterBox tent. ‘While the guys were pitching her tent she told us stories about her life, and living here on the corner of her neighborhood. ‘Now it’s all gone’ she said.’ ‘She was happy that we’d helped, and to have survived the flood, but unsure about her future.’ They asked the village elder to get someone to fix her water line, so it would stop pooling. They advised her to keep the tent zipped in the daytime to keep mosquitos out. Dave says, ‘Malaysia was full of wonderful examples of what a ShelterBox donation accomplishes. I will be heading home in a few days to continue telling my story, to raise donations for ShelterBox. Remember your donation brings shelter, dignity and security to those who have lost everything in a disaster.’
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WHAT GOES AROUND … ShelterBox is proud to be Rotary International’s only official project partner worldwide. Now, this March the relationship is being extended into 2016. ShelterBox CEO Alison Wallace explains why this is such a strong ‘circle of friendship’
With 1.2 million members and over 34,000 clubs worldwide, Rotary is represented in almost every country on the globe. 2015 is a landmark anniversary, 110 years since the establishment of the very first Rotary Club in Chicago. In 2012 ShelterBox became Rotary International’s first-ever official Project Partner, and this unique partnership has now been renewed until at least March 2016. Alison Wallace says, ‘I’ve often thought that the phrase ‘what goes around comes around’ suits Rotary ideally. Rotary has a familiar circular emblem, and the notion of life having a circular karma - that personal acts of kindness will be returned to you via the kindness of others - seems to capture Rotary’s global spirit.’
Always a warm welcome, wherever in the world. Here, at Borongan in E Samar in the Philippines.
‘The ShelterBox team shares that spirit, because there is no greater calling than helping people in distress. Time and again Rotarians work alongside ShelterBox – many of them within it. So I am delighted that Rotary International has extended our official project partnership, further strengthening a circle of friendship that reaches around the world.’ The agreement offers opportunities to collaborate and combine resources. Fundraising efforts by Rotarians make up a large proportion of the donations received by ShelterBox. But Rotary clubs also provide invaluable support to field operations in disaster zones,
• Back in 2012, Iquitos Rotarians in Peru alerted ShelterBox to Amazon River flooding. They worked with a ShelterBox Response Team, provided translation, funded transport of ShelterBoxes up the river, and helped get 171 ShelterBoxes to remote communities in this inhospitable landscape.
Rotary began 110 years ago in Chicago
by acting as in-country consignees for aid, helping with transport and accommodation, providing vital local knowledge and an ability to cut through red tape. Many ShelterBox Response Team volunteers are Rotarians, and the origins of ShelterBox’s international affiliate organisations were invariably Rotarians or Rotaracters. The importance of Rotary to ShelterBox can’t be overstated. Just a handful of examples: • It was a Rotary contact that first alerted us to the recent monsoon floods in Malaysia, and introduced our team to the country’s Prime Minister. We are one of very few western agencies able to operate in North Korea, due largely to liaison through a Rotary contact in Shanghai. Rotarians in Jordan have been essential to our work there helping Syrian refugees, and in May 2014 local Rotarians helped us to reach flood-stricken families in isolated parts of Serbia.
• For nearly a century Rotary clubs in the Philippines have been creating positive change. The first Philippine Rotary club was established in Manila in 1919, and in 1979 Rotary funded the immunisation of six million children to help eradicate polio. Now many of the Philippines’ 800 Rotary Clubs are standing alongside ShelterBox and its charity partners in a response to Typhoon Haiyan now in its third year, helping to make communities more resilient to tropical storms. Alison adds, ‘The list of our collaborations is continuous and endless. In 15 years ShelterBox has grown from one Rotary club’s adopted project to become the largest global partnership in Rotary’s 110year history. Last October I welcomed RIBI President Peter King to our Helston HQ, and he also attended our young illustrators’ book launch in London. We both agree that the alliance of 1.2 million Rotarians worldwide with ShelterBox’s international reach has built a major force in humanitarian aid.’
ShelterBox is attending Rotary International Great Britain and Ireland’s annual Conference in Belfast from 10 to 12th April 2015, where a tent and display will welcome delegates to the Belfast Waterfront centre. Response team member and record breaking transatlantic rower Sally Kettle (right, in Sumatra) will be speaking at the conference (see previous Newsletter Issue 4 2014)
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EBOLA AIRLIFT
An aid chain that started in Cornwall has put smiles on the faces of children in Freetown affected by the scourge of ebola. Our picture shows excitement in the township of Port Loko north east of Freetown. The excitement is caused not only by the arrival of a helicopter from Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Argus, but because of its unusual cargo. It has brought red and blue SchoolBoxes from ShelterBox, containing enough school equipment for 500 pupils, their final destination the ‘All as One’ orphanage which is caring for children who have lost family in the ebola outbreak. The merchant vessel Gypsum Centennial called into Falmouth harbour to pick up nearly £50,000 worth of food, toys and medical supplies for areas in the grip of ebola. The aid was donated following an appeal launched by A&P Falmouth, the largest ship-repair complex in the UK. The ship also carried the SchoolBoxes, packed on board by RNAS Culdrose helicopter crews in support of their colleagues on RFA Argus. ShelterBox also donated 60 distinctive black and yellow ‘Cornwall-coloured’ boxes to transport other aid. After their helicopter airlift the SchoolBoxes were received by local charity Educaid, which runs a network of free schools in Sierra Leone. RFA Argus is anchored around five miles off Freetown as she continues her deployment, Operation Gritlock, to combat the spread of ebola. Photograph: Gonzalo Ríos Gaete
GAZA – TENTS AMONG THE RUINS
ShelterBox supporters can at last see their generosity reaching out to one of the world’s most war-torn locations. and determination, bring a small ray of hope to families on the run from conflict, because of the aid our donors help us deliver.’ ‘I must also thank our partners, ACTED, for working in difficult and often dangerous circumstances, and our Operations team here in Cornwall for patiently negotiating this aid pipeline over months. Although these tents are so obviously pitched alongside shattered buildings in a war zone, how uplifting to finally see them delivered.’
Having announced on 9 January that 500 ShelterBoxes were poised to be distributed in Gaza, these photos received recently show tents being pitched alongside war-shattered buildings. The aid is being distributed by longtime ShelterBox partner, Paris-based ACTED (the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development).
ShelterBox also acknowledges the expertise of the Italian Cooperation for their role as a consignee, and contribution towards logistics and warehouse costs. They work in partnership in this region, meeting the needs of the local population, particularly the vulnerable and refugees.
The exact locations have not been disclosed for security reasons. With an estimated 100,000 homes destroyed during last year’s ‘50 days war’ there is now a housing crisis in Gaza. Thousands of families have quit the cities, triggering a need for accommodation and emergency shelter in country towns. But there is limited lighting and heating, as Gaza’s only power station was damaged last summer. Alison adds, ‘These photos are important. They show how we can, with perseverance Photos by ACTED
You can help families caught up in conflict. Use the tear-off form in this Newsletter, donate by phone during business hours on 0300 0300 500 or go to www.shelterbox.org and click on ‘donate’. 12
YOU CAN HELP OUR WORK LIVE ON
Thanks to you we have come a long way in the last fifteen years - and with your help we can be there for families who need us for many more years to come.
ShelterBox began as a small Cornish charity striving to help families devastated by disaster. Thanks to you, we’ve come a long way since then, reaching thousands of families in every corner of the globe. Throughout each and every year, the passion of our supporters and volunteers is beyond measure. You have made ShelterBox what it is today, helping people like Nora. Our response volunteers met Nora in Malaysia after her home was crushed by the colossal force of floodwaters. In shock and left with nothing, she had nowhere to go with her young children. They had lost literally everything. When our volunteers set up her ShelterBox tent and explained this was a gift from supporters like you, she sat in disbelief with tears of joy rolling down her cheeks.
To a family who have lost everything, a tent isn’t just four walls and a door - it’s security, privacy, hope, a place to laugh together, cry together, a home to begin rebuilding lives. As we look to the future there are many more families who desperately need help. By remembering ShelterBox in your Will, you can make sure we are there for people like Nora for years to come. Every gift makes sure we stay one step ahead of disaster. It means we can respond at a moment’s notice. More volunteers can be trained to deliver lifesaving equipment to desperate families as quickly as possible. And gifts in Wills make sure we are always able to adapt, evolve and innovate to ensure our equipment is the very best it can be.
For more information about leaving a gift to ShelterBox in your Will please get in touch with James Muir on 01326 569782 or jamesmuir@shelterbox.org
WORKING UNDERCOVER ShelterBox is listening carefully to those who receive its aid. One of the things we hear from victims of disaster is that they want to rebuild their homes and livelihoods as soon as possible. So, we came up with a simple way of helping, which perfectly complements our other aid. Many of the climates we work in are characterised by long periods of heavy rain, high humidity, or scorching heat. Waterproof cover and cooling shade can be essential in getting damaged buildings re-roofed. A large plastic sheet with fixings provides such protection. It can also give extra resilience to a ShelterBox tent in extremely wet or hot conditions, or provide basic shelter on its own that is relatively quick and straightforward to erect. The Shelter Kit pictured here has become a frequently-deployed supplement to our familiar boxes, tents and other equipment. It contains large waterproof sheeting, useful tools, rope and fixings. Shelter Kits are often provided to people who have a ShelterBox tent pitched adjacent to their damaged home or business, allowing them to get on with tasks such as re-roofing and rebuilding, sheltered from pouring rain and out of the sun. Photograph: Gonzalo RĂos Gaete
ShelterBox now provides a wider range of aid in addition to the familiar box itself. If you would like to help us respond in the best way to each disaster, please use the tear-off form opposite, phone 0300 0300 500, or go to www.shelterbox.org. Thank you.
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Front and back cover: After the flooding destroyed many homes in Malawi, these ShelterBox beneficiaries were able to remain living on their own land. Malawi, February 2015.