The Rotary Club of Mosgiel delivers much-needed ShelterBoxes to cyclone-hit Fiji .
Rotarians are being encouraged to partner with other organisations to further boost the good we ’ re doing around the world . One such powerful alliance is Rotary ’ s global partnership with disaster relief agency ShelterBox , which brings desperately-needed help and hope to some of the world ’ s most isolated and ravaged corners .
District 9980 is very proud to have Rotary Club of Dunedin member and environmental lawyer Jackie St John heading the New Zealand arm of this innovative initiative , an appointment she took up last year . Here , Jackie backgrounds ShelterBox , her three-year role as chair of its New Zealand board and the vital relationship with Rotary .
ShelterBox NZ now headed by senior 9980 Rotarian
ShelterBox has been an integral part of the Rotary stable since 2012 , when the organisations signed a ground-breaking project partnership agreement – which was renewed last year – propelling Rotarians to the very forefront of emergency disaster relief .
Jackie St John
The joint mission ? No family without shelter , says ShelterBox New Zealand chair Jackie St John – whether it ’ s the cyclone-battered South Pacific or war-torn Syria .
Established in 2001 , ShelterBox hand-delivers emergency shelter and aid to families devastated by natural disasters and conflict , giving them safe shelter and the tools to rebuild their communities . Since its launch , more than 140,000 ShelterBoxes have been delivered through around 250 deployments to 90-plus countries , bringing relief to over a million people .
“ We find clever ways to get to where we need to be – our trained ShelterBox Response Team members ( SRTs ) work with partners , including our amazing Rotarian connections who are often the first point of contact in a country following a disaster ,” she says .
“ This means we ’ ve been able to provide ShelterBox aid in some of the world ’ s most remote places , from the
DPRK ( North Korea ) to tiny Fijian islands and dense jungles in Paraguay .”
And , Jackie says , ShelterBox is receiving support from high places . New Zealand ’ s Governor-General , Dame Patsy Reddy , recently accepted an invitation to become ShelterBox NZ ’ s vice-regal patron for the duration of her term of office .
On assuming the role , Dame Patsy acknowledged “ the valuable work the organisation is doing to assist families who need shelter and life-saving aid around the world ”.
ShelterBox , Jackie says , continues to research and develop its equipment – which includes a new ShelterKit featuring repair tools – train its volunteer responders , as well as build and pre-position stocks so it can respond immediately to the next major disaster .
“ We don ’ t believe that one size fits all . We work hard to understand the impact of each emergency and the need this creates within individual communities .
“ Our partnership with Rotary supports our global reach – and it ’ s our intention to do even more .
“ We ’ re fueled by an impatience to reach more people in need , to empower them to transform their lives in the face of adversity , to build a world where no family is left without shelter .”
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