Peter and Sue Klock will come to your club to explain and
demonstrate the ShelterBox
Contact
the Klocks
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Peter and Sue Klock with Dave Mangs, president of West Hartford
06-07.
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Peter Klock at RI Convention
in Chicago at the ShelterBox Display
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ShelterBox and tent.
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ShelterBox
Continues to Meet the Need
for Emergency Shelter
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the overwhelming needs caused by multiple disasters in 2005, 2006
should have provided a break for this international
disaster-relief effort But, as the ShelterBox motto suggests
"The Need Exists . . .The Need Persists." In June,
hundreds of boxes were sent to Java which suffered a triple
whammy, volcano, earthquake and tsunami over a couple of weeks.
Hundreds went to Lebanon and Cyprus to relieve the misery caused
by warfare in southern Lebanon last August. The heroism of local
Rotarians who helped transport the boxes from an airfield in
Beirut to a safe refuge in northern Lebanon is a story fit for an
entire Rotary program. Hundreds more went to Kashmir - yes, no
mistake - more than a year after devastating earthquakes left
thousands homeless, more tents were requested in October to house
those facing a second winter with no shelter. December brought a
tsunami to the Philippines and a volcanic eruption in Papua New
Guinea. And, on to 2007, flooding in northern Kenya in January saw
ShelterBox cooperating to move two entire villages uphill. Then,
in March, flooding in areas of Bolivia triggered requests for
boxes. Most recently, a tsunami hit the Solomon Islands and within
days hundreds of boxes were shipped via Australia to that remote
spot.
Sue and Peter Klock of East Hartford Rotary
have experienced great responses from many clubs in District 7890,
and especially appreciate the support of DG Sue Atkins and PDG
Karen Andrews. District recognition of a club's donating
ShelterBoxes as counting toward the Presidential Citation is
significant. Sue says: "Right now, we are reinforcing the
message of ongoing need - ShelterBox is continually replacing
inventory, to be ready to pack area-appropriate boxes when a
request is made by a Rotary Club or disaster relief agency. Also,
boxes are continually being designated for the effort to provide
relief for families displaced by ethnic strife in Africa, AMA, A
Million for Africa, which is spearheaded by ShelterBox in
cooperation with UNICEF and the UN High Command for
Refugees."
The Klocks are encouraging Presidents-elect
to include a box or two in the club budget for next year. Each box
costs $1000 - see information on contents at www.shelterboxusa.org
and information on most recent shipments at www.shelterboxuk.org.
Contact Sue and Peter, klocks@shelterboxusa.org, for information
about funding a box. The Klocks will be pitching the tent at our
District Conference on Cape Cod. Consider it a substation of East
Hartford's hospitality suite! Stop by. And, consider coordinating
with some fellow Rotarians in making a donation. Klocks will be
offering another two-for-one special, only at the conference.
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The Background of ShelterBox
The ShelterBox motto is "The Need Exists, The Need
Persists". The need has been demonstrated in recent months when we have witnessed appalling disasters here at home with hurricanes pummeling our southeastern states and now the
after-effects of the devastating earthquake in Pakistan. The Klocks first became aware of and interested in ShelterBox USA at the time of last December's tsunami.
Frank Collins, FRIVP and currently RI's delegate to the UN, is a member of the East Hartford Club and stepped up to the podium at their first meeting
for 2005 to describe a number of ways for Rotarians to help alleviate post-tsunami suffering. Hearing that ShelterBox relief was on the ground before the International Red Cross was impressive; hearing that ShelterBoxes were dispensed and shared fairly under the watchful eye of local Rotarians was especially appealing. The Klocks opted to follow Frank's suggestion. A few months later, at June's RI Convention, Peter and Sue met Executive Director Beth Palmer and her husband, Gerry, at the ShelterBox USA display in the House of Friendship. There they became convinced to put their energies into this effort and offered to become regional representatives.
ShelterBox is the brainchild of Rotarian Tom Henderson of Helston-Lizard Club in Cornwall, England.
In 2002, while visiting friends in Florida, Tom met Jerry and Danise Hearn of the Lakewood Ranch (FL) Rotary
Club. The Hearns were impressed by Tom's idea, and created ShelterBox USA, with the Lakewood Ranch Club becoming the primary administrator for ShelterBox in this country.. An ingenious but simple and flexible approach to providing housing, bedding and clean water for areas ravaged by natural and man-made disasters, ShelterBox has been so effective, clubs in Australia and Canada also have established branches.
ShelterBox Japan has joined this global, grassroots, Rotary effort. It's important to note the global emphasis. Locally,
Rotary Club members, Sue and Peter Klock, are the Regional Representatives for ShelterBox USA.
They are eager to visit clubs in District 7890 to pitch the ShelterBox tent, showing Rotarians what is in the
"shelterbox" and pointing the way toward area clubs' working to fulfill an avenue of service -- international -- by donating at least one box. (RI endorses this and recognizes a club's support as an international project.)
The typical shelter box, designed for TEN people, includes bedding, cooking aids, tools, and a clean water kit in a sturdy box which can be used on site for anything from a baby crib to an eating table. These boxes are flexible - boxes going to Africa might not contain ponchos, whereas boxes for Katrina area held two tents, ponchos but no cook stove since most users were being provided meals by agencies such as Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
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