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Salmon Arm Rotarians support relief efforts in Türkiye, Syria after earthquakes

Donations made to purchase ShelterBoxes for people displaced in catastrophic quakes
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This image shows supplies that may be included inside a ShelterBox, which is delivered to a family in need after a disaster. (ShelterBox photo)

Salmon Arm Rotarians are among the many people supporting relief efforts in Türkiye and Syria.

More than 40,000 people are believed to have been killed in the 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that struck parts of Türkiye and Syria.

The devastation in both nations has left millions of other people in need of shelter and aid.

Hans Henri P. Kluge, the World Health Organization’s director for Europe, has said the needs are huge, and increasing by the hour, with “some 26 million people across both countries need humanitarian assistance.”

One of the organizations responding is ShelterBox, which provides kits tailored to the needs of a community, mostly for its ShelterBoxes and ShelterKits. These green boxes contain family-sized tents specifically designed to withstand the elements and provide people with temporary shelter until they are able to start the process of rebuilding a home.

The Salmon Arm Rotary and Daybreak Rotary clubs were quick to fund five ShelterBoxes ($1,200 each) for the relief effort.

“We look after our community and our community sometimes means the world,” said the Salmon Arm Rotary Club’s Norm Brown.

ShelterBox says its response team has been developing partnerships, meeting with Rotary International, and scaling up its work with existing partners, working around the clock to get tents and other items to Türkiye and Syria.

“ShelterBox tents are being loaded onto a flight and will be soon making their way to people in the affected areas of Türkiye and Syria,” reads a Feb. 14 post on the ShelterBox Facebook page. “Freezing temperatures in both countries are presenting an immediate risk to life for those who are too afraid to go home, or have no home to back to. These tents will be critical in giving these families places to stay warm and sleep at night.”

Rotary International and ShelterBox Canada have partnered for many years in providing disaster relief around the globe, and local Rotarians endorse ShelterBox as a trusted and reputable group to support.

Donations can be made at shelterboxcanada.org.

With files from John Arendt/Summerland Review.

Read more: Summerland Rotary Club provides assistance following Turkey, Syria earthquake

Read more: Rotarians donate close to $29,000 to Salmon Arm food banks



lachlan@saobserver.net
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