PLATTSBURGH — Tom Henderson hit upon an idea — ShelterBox — to provide global humanitarian aide and relief from natural and man-made disasters.
Henderson, a UK Rotarian and former Royal Navy search-and-rescue diver, came up with a gap-in-aid measure to provide a durable tent, tool set, water-purification, supplies, blankets, a cook stove and mosquito nets for a family of 10.
Founded in 2000, ShelterBox is the largest Rotary-club project in the world. The bright-green containers have been shipped to victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and earthquakes in Haiti and the Kashmir region of Pakistan.
Last year, ShelterBox responded to a tsunami in Indonesia, a hurricane in St. Lucia, a typhoon in the Philippines, landslides and/or flooding in Panama, Columbia, Benin, Mexico and Guatemala. Right now, ShelterBox is assisting Brazilian victims of floods and landslides.
customized
North Country residents recently got the chance to walk into one of the rugged-dome tents and view the life-saving supplies at Champlain Centre in Plattsburgh.
"We have become familiar with it the past year and made it one of the main areas of emphasis in the area of world service within the (Plattsburgh) Sunrise Rotary," said Doug Butdorf, one of four local volunteer representatives for the project. "Volunteer representatives are charged with raising awareness, raising funds and building enthusiasm for ShelterBox."
The box weighs approximately 120 pounds and includes cooking pots, children's educational information, school supplies, sleeping bags, hats and gloves.
"It can be customized," Butdorf said. "If it's being deployed in an area where there is mosquito-borne illnesses, it will include mosquito nets. If it's being deployed in an area that is cold, it will include more warm clothes, gloves, scarfs, hats, etc."
Malone Rotarians, President-elect Dee Brown, Babs Weber and Martha Weaver, participated in the ShelterBox demo in Plattsburgh.
"It's life enhancing," Brown said. "It's a great thing to do."
"They can get ShelterBoxes to a disaster area within 48 hours," Weber said. "Forty thousand went to Haiti. There are 65,000 in Australia and Pakistan. Everything goes in brand new. Each one contains a stove that can burn anything including old paint."
donation dollars
The ShelterBox is designed to give a family what they need to live for six months until they can get re-established, but the ShelterBox can last up to two years.
"In Haiti, it's been longer because of the extent of the disaster," Brown said. "When the box hits the ground, a ShelterBox Response Team trains the people how to use the items."
"Each tent can withstand winds up to 210 mph," Weaver said.
Each box costs $1,000, which averages 56 cents daily per sheltered refugee.
"We hope people will spread the word about it to their church and community organizations," Brown said. "People can give any dollar amount. Every dollar helps."
Every donation is recorded and assigned to a box.
"You can go online and track your box and see when it is delivered," Weber said. "Any donation will be applied to one of the boxes."
The Plattsburgh Sunrise Rotary donated more than $4,000 in 2010.
"Our goal, as a team, is to shoot for combined donations of over $40,000," Butdorf said. "Not just for the Plattsburgh Rotary, but the work of volunteer representatives to raise funds from across the Northern Tier, and that includes southern Quebec, southern Ontario and northern New York."
Local faith communities, schools and organizations can take on the project.
"Instead of giving everybody presents at Christmastime, they could get together to sponsor one ShelterBox," Butdorf said.
E-mail Robin Caudell at: rcaudell@pressrepublican.com
