The Arcadia Rotary Club is seeking donations to provide temporary housing and other emergency supplies to the 12 million Pakistanis rendered homeless or needing urgent assistance due to extreme flooding.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – by Anne Donofrio-Holter – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The ShelterBox program is part of a disaster relief program sponsored by Rotarians in six countries. Each ShelterBox costs $1,000 each, including delivery to the relief site, and provides thermal blankets, cooking equipment, food and water purification supplies for up to three weeks, and a tent that can house up to ten people for temporary shelter during disasters such as earthquakes or floods, according to Arcadia Rotary president-elect Dr. Brad Miller.
The Rotary Foundation established the Rotary Pakistan Flooding Recovery Fund for the purpose of collecting funds to be used to assist the disaster affected areas of Pakistan, said Miller. The funds will be collected until December 31 and will be used as the Foundation’s basis for matching grants.
“I realized that despite Haiti and the gulf oil spill, Pakistan is a human tragedy as big as anything we have seen, and while I was sitting in the air conditioned comfort of my living room a world away, hundreds of thousands of families were trudging through waist deep murky water looking for dry ground,” said Miller. “The combination of vivid TV images and the personal grief of an individual on the radio made me realize how lucky we are and perhaps we were not stepping up enough.”
Miller then went to club president Matt Weaver with an idea to challenge club members to contribute $50 per person towards the purchase of ShelterBoxes.
“If we raised $5000 in the next month to purchase five boxes, 50 people could be sheltered, a drop in the bucket, but at least something,” said Miller, noting that when combined with matching funds, the numbers could rise substantially. “I challenged our board to support the project 100% and challenge friends, family and the local community for a contribution of at least $10.”
According to Miller, the ShelterBox tent itself can last as long as a year as other relief organizations follow-up with additional food, water and other supplies. Once purchased, they can be tracked on the internet and their delivery location observed by donors.
Tax deductable donations for the purchase of ShelterBoxes can be sent to the Arcadia Rotary Club, PO Box 660638, Arcadia, CA 91066. Checks should be made out to The Rotary Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.