Shelter and Aqua Boxes

Cheam and Sutton Rotary funds a Aquaboxes and Shelterboxes each year which are essential in the disaster areas of the world.

Disaster come in many forms, earthquakes, cyclones, floods etc., but they all share a common factor. The most urgent problem facing the relief agencies is the provision of shelter and supply of safe drinking water to avoid water borne disease.

An Aquabox has two functions. It is filled with a selection of useful hardware, hygiene,and general support items and educational materials for children and a filter cartridge and matching supply of water treatment tablets to purify up to 1,100 litres of polluted water making it safe to drink. 1,100 litres is 5,000 cups, enough say,for a group of 4 people drinking 10 cups a day for about 4 months.

A ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and filtration equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a childrens activity pack and other vital items.

We recently received the following letter from ShelterBox advising us of how one of our ShelterBox is helping a family in Peru:-

"As part of a Shelter-Box Response Team, I recently returned from the mountainous region of Apurimac in south-eastern Peru where heavy rains and landslides destroyed hundreds of homes. I am writing to tell you that your ShelterBox, in the name of 'The Rotary Club of Cheam', has been given to a family in need.

We worked closely with local Rotarians and the national disaster relief agency to reach remote areas and help the most vulnerable communities and families. Lazaro Tambraico Huacho, his wife Eulalia and their two children, lost their home in a landslide.

'We lost absolutely everything -clothes, furniture, livestock. The entire community was forced to move and live in small, makeshift shelters on the side of the mountain. Temperatures fell at night and the majority of people had been living with no blankets.'

When Eulalia moved into her ShelterBox tent she told me: 'We're very happy. lt is warm and the tools will help us rebuild our irrigation systems. Having our home destroyed has been horrible but ShelterBox has given us strength and brought the community closer together."

Thanks to your support we provided more than 400 families with emergency shelter and vital equipment when they needed it most.