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ShelterBox continues to distribute aid in flood-stricken Thailand

ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) members in Thailand are working hard to deliver emergency shelter as thousands of people continue to be affected by the widespread floods.

According to the Government of Thailand homes and farmland have been swamped in 26 provinces and the heavy flooding has cut off hundreds of roads. So far over 250 ShelterBox tents and 1000 mosquito nets have been distributed to families in need.

The tents make a real difference to people who have lost their homes. SRT member, Jennifer Kormendy (CA), described the situation for one young mother and her family: 'While at the evacuation centre, we met a woman with a five-day old baby. The baby was born on the boat as she was evacuated from her flooded home. She is overjoyed to be receiving a ShelterBox to house her young family and to have privacy as she settles in with her new baby.'

The team has been working alongside the Royal Thai Army to put up 100 tents in a stadium in Koka tiem. ‘The tents are already in full use by families who have been forced to abandon their homes,’ explained SRT member Stephen Crabtree (UK). ‘The army expects the site to be in use for around two months, so it is essential that it is well set up with secure, weather-proof shelter and good water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.’

In addition to the provision of emergency shelter, ShelterBox water purifiers and water carriers have been distributed to temples, churches and mosques where they are accessible to those who need them. ShelterBox tool kits have been provided to local electricians for making essential repairs after the flood damage.

The team has also delivered a number of ShelterBox Classrooms in a Box to schools that have been badly affected by the floods. The Government of Thailand has announced that the start of the second school semester will have to be postponed in 13 flood-torn provinces due to water damage and access  problems. The ShelterBox kits, each of which provides school equipment for 200 children and essential equipment for teachers, will help the schools get up and running again as quickly as possible.

From  David  Glover, UK & Ireland Rotary & Speaker Network Co-ordinator,
ShelterBox: A Global Rotary Club Project

 www.shelterbox.org

ROTARY WELCOMES AUSTRALIANS TO SUTHERLAND 

Among the many ways in which Rotary tries to help the people of the world is the Group Study Exchange initiative.  This encourages young people who are influential within their own local economy or community to visit another country and better understand the culture and the people from that country, and this year the north of Scotland clubs have welcomed 5 Australians to spend 6 weeks seeing our country enjoying our culture and and working in their own industries or vocations but in our towns and villages.

John McKenzie and agricultural consultant, Neal Molineaux a University Facilities manager and building supervisor, Stacey Miller a journalist and TV anchor-woman, Alyssa Brabin an education specialist and Cindy Nutley a Communication Officer for the Government Roads department have been all over Scotland , staying in KInross, Dundee, Aberdeen, Pitlochry  and Stirling BUT the highlight has been their week in Sutherland.

They have visited Dunrobin Castle and watched some pretty soggy birds fly, they have studied history at Timespan and compared their Klondyke with Kildonan.  They have watched the salmon leap at the Falls of Shin, they have golfed and they have run along the sandy beaches, as well as exploring the straths and the wilderness areas too and of course they discovered Clynelish Whisky and its fine distillery.

Stacey even got to work for the Raggie or Northern Times while the others were on farms or schools or at Drummuie - all of which they enjoyed and felt beneficial.   However, perhaps the highlight was the farewell night ceilidh with the Big Burn Band and the talented children from the Golspie High music department - they learnt to Strip the Willow and vowed to get everyone in New South Wales doing it before Hogmanay.  The members of the East Sutherland Rotary Club were so impressed with all of the Australian team and the positive effect they had on our local club they have vowed to sponsor someone from here to go overseas on next years GSE Visit be it to Australia or the USA or where ever.  So, if any reader is under 38 years of age in employment and able to get 6 weeks off work, and would like to have a fantastic experience thanks to Rotary, then please contact our President Graeme McLaughlin, Fountain Road, Golspie for more information.

[more photos click here]

GREAT NIGHT FOR A GOOD CAUSE!

Over 100 people gathered at Inverbrora Farm for a fantastic evening of food, wine and entertainment to raise money for the starving in the Horn of Africa.

The event was the brainchild of Alistair Risk but was brought to life by the members of the Rotary Club of East Sutherland and friends.

Even through it was the last day of summer and the weather forecast a bit iffy they were blessed with a mild and dry evening and every precaution had been taken with a virtual tented village with marquees and more to accommodate every diner, with the whole site illuminated to ensure a real summer evening atmosphere a la the big pop concerts of T In the Park.  And of course the McCalls had their wonderful log fired farmhouse open for anyone who felt the cold.

The food was exceptional –not just the usual BBQ fayre -but charcoal grilled salmon, chicken as well as superb bangers and burgers for all - AND there was a full dressed buffet featuring salmon, prawns, beef, hams, chickens and a miriad of salads and dressing with freshly baked bread.  The  farmhouse kitchen displayed a huge table for freshly baked gateaux, pies, home made trifles and pavlovas as well as strawberries and seasonal fruits.

A real feast for all!!!

The evening started with the amazing Sutherland Schools Pipe Band who marched onto the site in full regalia to thrill the gathering crowd with their stirring music. Then the Stuidh group of young gaelic musicians and singers enchanted everyone with haunting melodies and foot tapping songs in our native language before dinner was served and Kenny Black and Monica took over the baton of entertaining the crowd with music from all the shows and much more—and all as the evening light started to fade and the fun and the laughter become more and more convivial.---A great night indeed!!!

As a result of this wonderful evening and thanks to the generosity of everyone who attended and a few who could not the Rotary Club was able to raise almost £900 including £100 donated by Sally McCall which she had won in the raffle—a generous lady indeed, and more money is still coming in for this good cause.

Club's Alisdair Miller's Trip to Nepal to See the REAL Effects of Rotary Work

To most people, Nepal is simply the country where Mount Everest is located – but this ignores Nepal’s many attractions. This rugged mountain nation, wedged between the mountain wall of the Himalayas and the steamy jungles of the Indian plains, has been described as paradise on earth.

During their trip, Alisdair and Cecilia visited two Rotary-funded projects designed to alleviate one of the problems Nepal faces: the lack of clean water in many remote hill villages. Nepal comprises 68% mountains, with 15% of these snow covered all year. There is no shortage of water, the country having the second highest water resource in the world after Brazil. But many villages are very poor and remote, without the infrastructure to provide clean water. Villagers therefore use water collected directly from streams which are invariably contaminated by dead animals, rotting vegetation and other waste. This causes disease and death.

To help combat this, two water and sanitation projects, co-ordinated by the Rotary Club of Elgin, were funded by North Scotland Rotary Clubs. These projects were overseen on the ground in Nepal by the Rotary Club of Himalayan Gurkhas, with technical expertise provided by the Nepal Water and Health organisation.

The projects involved two villages, Nepane and Simle, situated in Nepal’s remote and hilly Gorkha district. The provision of clean water was achieved by damming the streams close to the villages and filtering the water to provide a secure gravity-fed clean water system with tap points into the villages. In Nepane 19 tap stands, 66 latrines and a school toilet block with separate entrances for boys and girls were provided, directly benefiting 521 people and a school of 315 students. In Simle 334 people plus a school of 184 students benefited from the provision of 13 tap stands, 45 latrines and a school toilet block. Each project also included comprehensive training in maintaining health and hygiene. 

In all, twenty-two Rotarians from eight Scottish Rotary clubs made the trip. They spent four days travelling high into the hills to visit the two projects. Project funding was raised by donations from thirty one Clubs within Rotary District 1010 (Scotland North), with RCoES donating £2000 raised from the generosity of Sutherland people. This and matching grants from District 1010 and Rotary Foundation (Rotary’s own Charity) raised a total of £48,000. Approximately 20% of the funding was provided by the villagers constructing the facilities and providing some materials from local resources. The commitment by the villagers was huge: in Nepane this involved a team of thirty people over a period of three months carrying vast quantities of sand and gravel up very narrow and steep tracks from a river bed approximately 1,200 feet below the village. The projects began in January 2010 and were completed in December.

The visits took place in November during the Nepali New Year celebrations, and the visiting Rotarians were humbled by the welcome they received in both villages, with dances, meals and liberal quantities of raksi, the locally produced rice wine. The villagers are hard working, honest people with great dignity and were keen to demonstrate their new facilities which were maintained in a spotless condition. The projects have led to a major improvement in the lives of over a thousand people by providing something which we in Sutherland take for granted – clean water. 

The visit showed clearly that even a small Rotary Club like East Sutherland’s can make a difference not only in our own area but to communities around the world. The villagers of Nepane and Simle are grateful to all those in Sutherland who contributed to the fundraising efforts by RCoES which helped make these projects a reality.

The work of RCoES goes on, with current fundraising concentrating on the Pakistan and Brazil flood disasters, as well as local charities.

AT THE ROTARY CLUB OF East Sutherland we fully support this work through our International and Foundation Committee. Our programme gives support for projects in Africa and in Asia and links with Australia and the USA and elsewhere and the club members and the local community are generous with their time and money to this aim.

East Sutherland Support Needy International Causes and Rotary Internationally!

Paperweight from Australia

During a month long trip to Sydney Australia to visit friends and relatives Paddy Murray (Dornoch) of East Sutherland Rotary Club visited Sydney Rotary Club where he was presented with a paperweight to bring back to Sutherland in exchange for the more usual East Sutherland banner...Clive Grewcock Photo

Hugh goes International and so does Isobel

Hugh Johnston was once again in globetrotting mode when he attended the Rotary Club of Malta and like every good attendance officer kept his attendance credits up to date.

Isobel Murray also managed to visit a club in Tenerife where as a lady member she was something of a novelty amongst a lot of men (a bit like Dingwall??).  All members are encouraged to visit other clubs when on their travels as they are always welcome and amongst friends when they do.

At the mid October East Sutherland Rotary Club meeting President Alistair Risk had the pleasure of welcoming 3 of the dedicated staff from Oversteps Church of Scotland Home in Dornoch--Dianne Paterson, Kenny Mackay and Eileen Mackay Their visit was for 2 reasons, firstly to tell all of the club members about the wonderfull care they and their colleagues provide and secondly to thank the club for sponsoring the trip that 5 of the staff made to Virginia USA where they spent a month during the summer caring for elderly and destitute families of redundant miners, many of them in their 80s The talk was inspirational and everyone who heard it was inspired to do more for this cause in the future

The picture below show a recent visit by GSE teams from Australia and Florida to the far north, and our own member Alistair Risk has just returned from a return visit speaking at many Florida Rotary Clubs.

• We support humanitarian programmes of the Rotary International and in particular, support programmes associated with the Presidential areas of emphases, including Water, Sanitation, Health concerns, Poverty reduction strategies and Literacy promotion
• promote projects between Clubs and Districts in RIBI with those in overseas countries, encouraging hands on efforts, international cooperation and fellowship
• respond to disaster relief efforts and rebuilding processes following natural disasters.
• build and sustain international friendship and service through the Rotary Fellowships and Rotarian Action Groups.
• promote International Service Projects, including those associated with the web based publication.” Opportunities to Serve”. The projects will be classified as Core projects, RIBI approved projects and Charity accredited projects
• Supporting and contributing to the International Development Programmes of the UN, in partnership with Governmental Agencies such as the Department for International Development (DfID), and other NGO’s in the programmes associated with the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) of the UN.
• Liaising and collaborating with other programmes within the RIBI such as Membership Development, The Rotary Foundation, Youth Services, Community and Vocational Development and Communication within and outside of Rotary, in an organisation of joined up Rotary demonstrating that Rotary Shares.
• Adapting and conforming to the RI strategic goals, in relation to the programmes in Clubs and Districts in RIBI.
• Supporting RI president and RIBI president ,in their aims for International Service.

This club is proud to be co-sponsors with the Elgin Rotary Club in providing clean water, sanitation and education to communities in Nepal. And to support the Leonard Cheshire organisation with Schools4All in Africa as well as supplying emergency boxes, tents, food and supporting the shoebox gift appeal.

In Pakistan, ShelterBox is working with local Rotarians has distributed more than 1,000 ShelterBoxes, giving emergency shelter and essential equipment to up to 10,000 people who have been made homeless by the fighting between the army and militants in the North West Frontier Province.

But we need to do more - the UN estimates that almost 2.4 million people have been displaced. Most are living in overcrowded, makeshift, unsanitary conditions.

 

In Sri Lanka, ShelterBox has so far helped up to 7,000 people who were displaced in the final weeks of the civil war. We have set up a camp especially for vulnerable people. There are currently about 300,000 people in Sri Lanka requiring emergency shelter. We are working with local Rotarians in the country and want to do more to help.

 

Each ShelterBox contains a 10-person tent, blankets, water purification and cooking equipment, a stove and other essential equipment.

Remember, every ShelterBox we send out is individually numbered and can be tracked by donors.

 

It is only with the support of Rotary clubs in the UK and around the globe that we continue to be able to respond so quickly to these disasters. We are very grateful for your ongoing support and hope that you can help us. World Refugee Day is on Saturday 20 June and offers a great opportunity to assist those in need.

 

Kind regards,

 

Rtn Lasse Petersen, ShelterBox General Manager                                         

SHELTERBOX DONATION HOTLINE   0300 0300 800 or www.shelterbox.org

“When Rotarians are confronted with problems too large to contemplate, they start small and keep going ……… build bridges that last” --- Wilfrid Wilkinson, President Rotary International 2007-08.
 

President Alistair and Fiona visit the Rotary Club of Nyon in Switzerland while on holiday near Geneva 

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