Rotary Club of Belfast

ShelterBox Response Team Member speaks to Club

SpeakeNicolaFromShelterBoxResponseTeamThank you Nicola Hinds, ShelterBox Response Team Member who gave the Club, Monday 27 July, a very well received, vibrant illustration of the reality of responding to disasters around the world; she particularly highlighted the invaluable logistical support provided by Rotary to field operations.

Rotarians are, more often than not, the first point of contact for the ShelterBox Response Team members when they arrive in a country that has been devastated by a disaster and they provide everything from logistical support, translators (particularly Rotaractors) and local knowledge to a bed to sleep in.

Nicola is the only NI member of the Response Teams and her first line experiences revealed the actuality of the difficulties they face. She pointed out that they are only in a country at the request of their Government and have to respond to what they ask for.

She highlighted 3 main responses she had recently been involved with:

 

Flooding in Nepal 2014
nepal14.1Nepal14.2ShelterBox teams overcame formidable obstacles to be able to distribute aid to families in Nepal after floods and landslides. With the help of 100 cadets volunteered by the Chief of Police they were the only agency to reach very difficult to get to villages.

Nepal03

She particularly noted the strength of flood waters which can destroy all in its path such as the stairs to this bridge.

 

Nepal Earthquake 2015

    She reported that because the earthquake had been forecast, though the timing was uncertain, they had supplies stored in place and she showed a recent video showing how they had helped a small community near Trisuli in Central Nepal who had been struggling to accommodate medical staff since the disaster.

Malawi15Malawi Flooding 2015
This year's deluge is said to be the worst in 40 years; tens of thousands fled their homes and an estimated 170 died as a month's worth of rain fell in just a day.

ShelterBox worked through tough weather and challenging landscapes and 6 of the Club's donated boxes were allocated to that region.

Further information on ShelterBox, its responses and the Club's contributions can be seen here.

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