By Emily Banks Wooten
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Bob Haeuser from Bellville, a Rotarian since 1992 and a past Rotary district governor, recently spoke to the Rotary Club of Livingston about ShelterBox, which is an official partner of Rotary International.
ShelterBox is an organization that exists to bring supplies to people who have been displaced due to disaster or war. It has served approximately 2.5 million people around the world since 2,000 and has been nominated for two Nobel peace prizes.
The vision of ShelterBox is a world where no family is without shelter after disaster. The mission is to build awareness of global displacement and to facilitate providing families with life-saving shelter and essential tools and supplies that will enable them to rebuild their homes and transform their lives after disaster.
ShelterBox is essentially a green heavy plastic tote filled with a tent that sleeps six, rope, a shovel, hammers, a cook kit and hygiene products.
“Shelter Box is very highly rated by charity navigator and gets high marks. We only spend approximately 10% of total revenue on administrative. The rest goes to shelter, essential items and technical assistance,” Haeuser said.
“The boxes are tailor-made to the area, in terms of tents, tarps, building materials,” Haeuser said.
“Right now, more than 114 million people around the world have lost their homes to disaster and conflict,” he said, adding that ShelterBox has gone to Pakistan, Grenada, Gaza and Honduras, among other places.
Conflict, persecution, violence, discord are generally what lead to the need for an organization like ShelterBox.
Haeuser said the ShelterBox workers firmly believe in regional procurement in that they try and source all supplies locally, to support the local economies affected by disaster.
Shelter Box is a non-profit organization that derives all of its income through donations. In conjunction with Rotary International, ShelterBox has what are called hero clubs based on their level of giving. ShelterBox Hero Clubs include the bronze level for giving $1,000; the silver level for giving $3,000 and the gold level for giving $5,000.
“When your club becomes a ShelterBox Hero, it enables us to pre-position emergency shelter and supplies around the world to help families quickly after disaster. Together, we can reach more families,” Haeuser said.
“We’re always looking for team leaders to go out into the field. There are many ways to get involved and there’s a wealth of information on the website,” Haeuser said.
For additional information, go to shelterboxusa.org.
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