The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Coming to aid of world’s disasters
The climate crisis is here. A devastating reality for families on the frontline, destroying homes and livelihoods. This is an emergency. Supporting the environment is one of Rotary’s main areas of focus. As long as climate change continues to cause more extreme storms, devastating floods and scorching droughts, we will do our best to support families on the frontline of the destruction.
The global climate, changing at an unprecedented rate, is having a dramatic effect on people around the world. We are mindful that some people endure more than their fair share of misery.
Working with one of our partners, ShelterBox, we help families like Esther’s. Having fled Boko Haram violence in Nigeria, she now lives in the Minawao Refugee Camp in
Cameroon. Her family are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, despite having contributed to it the least.
Esther said: “It is difficult to distinguish between the seasons. The heat is unbearable every day; crops are dying. We can only drink water rather than take a shower. I hope this situation changes because I don’t know what kind of
world my children and grandchildren will live in.”
Recently, western Haiti was hit by a huge earthquake, leaving more than 8,000 homes damaged or fully destroyed. Buildings have been flattened and hospitals already – under strain from Covid-19 – are overwhelmed.
Haiti has not yet recovered from the 2010 earthquake which killed more than 200,000 people. As ShelterBox prepared to respond, Haitians were hit by Tropical Storm Grace, which dumped more than a foot of rain over some of the worst affected areas.
Many people face these conditions without a roof over their heads. ShelterBox is sending a team to the Caribbean, initially based in the neighbouring Dominican Republic. The team will work with fellow humanitarians, including local Rotary contacts, to assess damage reports; understand from communities what they need; and work on the challenging logistics of delivering aid.
This will be the first time a ShelterBox team has deployed since the coronavirus crisis took hold of the world.
The earthquake and Storm Grace have come at a time when ShelterBox is already responding in many other countries, including Syria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Honduras. While attention turns to Haiti, the need for shelter is growing all around the world.
For further details, and to help Rotary, visit www. shelterbox.org. Your donation will be spent wherever the need is greatest. We need your help to bring hope to a family today. A donation of £69 would pay for a shelter kit, giving a family the tools and materials to fix their home.
In 2010, with the amazing support of the Rotary family, ShelterBox provided shelter to over 140,000 people in Haiti.
It is estimated that 1.2 billion people could be displaced by the climate crisis by 2050.