Cyprus Rotarians help Haiti victims with Shelterbox survival aid kits

Rotary clubs from all over Cyprus have joined forces to send special aid to the Haiti earthquake victims in the form of 35 purpose-made ShelterBox specialty kits for emergency shelter, that contain tents for 10 people, blankets, tools, water purification tablets, cooking and eating utensils, stoves and other useful items designed for survival.
So far, 7,000 ShelterBox kits and tent packs donated from around the world have arrived in Haiti and more are on the way.
Each ShelterBox kit costs 580 euros and the amount of EUR 20,300 was raised in Cyprus from individual Rotarian donations, club emergency funds or special events organized for this purpose. The Interact club of Limassol-Kourion, a Rotary youth project for of 13-18 year olds, alone raised EUR 2320, the equivalent of four such boxes. They are packed in the U.K. and shipped from there by relief flights that have already arrived in the Haitian capital delivering the first 1,000 kits sponsored by donors from around the world. Another 3,000 are expected to arrive there soon.
“Rotarian response through the ShelterBox international disaster relief charity has been amazing. Our effort is under the auspices of the Minister of Foreign affairs Markos Kyprianou and we feel encouraged that we will have a good response from individuals, companies and other NGOs,” said ShelterBox Cyprus Coordinator, Christina Covotsos-Patroclou.
“Cyprus Rotarians helped deliver aid to Lebanon during the 2006 conflict when they received and forwarded 600 ShelterBoxes to Beirut. Since then a number of clubs have sponsored 15 more ShelterBoxes which have been forwarded to disaster areas around the world,” she added.
“The cost of a box does not represent a minimum donation. Donations can be as large or as small as the donor can afford. Each donation is allocated to individually numbered ShelterBoxes so each donor can track the box they sponsored and see where it was eventually delivered. ShelterBox also prides itself by keeping costs to a minimum of 3.5% and devoting maximum funds to the project” explained Christina.
“ShelterBox was conceived by a single Rotarian visionary in the U.K. in 2000 and has since expanded to become a Global Rotary Project. It has now been adopted as an aid project by many Rotary clubs around the world,” added Tassos Televantides, District Governor’s Representative for all the Rotary clubs of Cyprus.
Individuals, groups or companies may also sponsor ShelterBox kits by donating through any one of the 19 local Rotary Clubs (www.rotary-cyprus.org ) or contacting the Shelterbox Cyprus Coordinator on 99636250. More information is available on www.shelterbox.org .