Canberra Antique and Classic Motor Club has purchased a Rotary Club ShelterBox with some of the proceeds of a successful Austins Over Australia rally held in the National Capital during Easter 2007.
"The event made a small surplus and the club members voted to purchase the ShelterBox to help Rotary provide emergency accommodation for people left homeless by natural disasters," Canberra Antique and Classic Motor Club president Phil Donoghoe said.
Mr Donoghoe said, "the members voted overwhelmingly to purchase the box." Rotary Club of Woden Daybreak representative Graham Waite said each box contains a ten person tent, sleeping equipment, water purifications tablets, eating utensils, writing material and children’s activity items (crayons etc), basic tools and a unique multi fuel stove.
Every thing needed to house a family of ten people after devastating floods, fire. tsunamis, mud slides or other natural disasters, is all contained in a large plastic box which can be air lifted to the disaster area.
"Each box is numbered and its location can be tracked on a web site," Mr Waite said. He said the ShelterBox was a world-wide Rotary Club project started in Britain in 2001, and so far 50 000 boxes have been donated from around the world. These have provided shelter, comfort and dignity to more than 600 000 people in 46 countries. In Australia there are two storage depots one in Melbourne and one in Brisbane, with ShelterBoxes ready for deployment in our region.
"In recent times boxes have been deployed to Myanmar (Burma), China and Pakistan," he said. "The Rotary Club would like to sincerely thank the Canberra Antique and Classic Motor Club for its generous donation to purchase a box. Each box costs $1200," Mr Waite said.
The car club will be presented with a certificate recognising the club’s donation of a ShelterBox by Mr Waite on Tuesday 9 December, at a club meeting to be held in the car park adjacent to the YMCA boatshed off Alexandrana Drive, Yarralumla Bay, at 6.30pm.
A number of classic cars will be there, including some of the Austins which participated in the rally. A ShelterBox will be on show for club members to inspect.
For further information about the ShelterBox project contact Graham Waite on 0412 627 437 Email [email protected]
