Rotary Club of Glen Ellyn Raises $1,000 for Shelter Box!
August 12, 2018
The Rotary Club of Glen Ellyn has been providing shelter through ShelterBox annually since 2008
In 2017 with the support of Rotary Clubs from around the world, ShelterBox provided shelter for 32,000 families whose lives were devastated by disaster. We were able to respond to world events 24 times, sending a variety of essential shelter and aid items to 21 different countries. 16 of the countries ShelterBox operated in were affected by natural disasters, in most of which Rotary clubs provided invaluable in-country assistance. Each year, Rotary helps us to go further, support more people and access areas that would otherwise be impossible to reach.
The donation which the Rotary Club of Glen Ellyn awarded went to provide shelter for a family in the Lake Chad Basin in central Africa. This area has been under persecution by Boko Haram terrorist army. Since 2009, Boko Haram has been waging an insurgency in Northern Nigeria. The violence has since spread to the neighboring regions of Niger, Chad and Cameroon. As of February 2018, 10.7 million people in the Lake Chad region are in need of relief assistance. 2.2 million people are estimated to have been displaced and perpetual insecurity continues to drive displacement. Many families have wound their way through the Middle East to refugee camps in Europe, but many suffer untold atrocities in their own homeland.
Rotary International’s logistical support on ShelterBox deployments is just as critical as the generous financial support we receive from Rotarians and Clubs worldwide. The fundraising efforts by Rotarians make up a significant proportion of donations received by ShelterBox. Alongside this, Clubs provide invaluable support to our field operations.
Rotarians will often be the people who ensure our aid can be delivered into a country by acting as consignees. Often, where official government and other NGO (Non Government Organization) aid does not reach, they are delivered and erected by arrangement of ShelterBox working directly with Rotary clubs in affected areas. These essential acts mean we can deliver aid to people in need as quickly as possible.
More often than not, it will be Rotarians and Clubs who are the first point of contact for the ShelterBox Response Team members when they arrive in a country that has been devastated by a disaster. The Rotary Club of Glen Ellyn is proud to participate in international endeavors to relieve suffering and illness.
If you would like to be part of a group that undertakes this and many of other international and local service and relief efforts please go to our web page or Facebook page by just Goggling - Rotary Club of Glen Ellyn and you can contact us through either of these sites.