ShelterBoxes are a multi-function invention that can provide emergency relief for a family of up to 10 people.
They contain a tent, tools, thermal blankets, insulated ground sheets, a water purification system, a stove with pots, pans, and utensils, and more.
Even the box it all comes in can be used for a variety of purposes, from food and water storage, to a cot for a newborn baby.
Local Rotary Clubs donate ShelterBoxes to provide relief in natural disasters, as well as the ongoing refugee crisis.
At the Pinjarra Garden Day on Sunday October 2, the public can see a ShelterBox on display thanks to the Rotary Club of Pinjarra.
“This exhibit always attracts a lot of attention, with people amazed that so much can be fitted into a small box ready to be sent anywhere in the world when disaster strikes,” Pinjarra Rotary’s acting president Murray Chapman said.
However, Rotary’s relief effort this year has been directed as much at home as overseas with the devastating bushfires in the South West.
Mr Chapman said the Club has raised $460,000 for the fire disaster in Yarloop and Waroona which has been used for animal welfare (mainly feed) and for trauma counselling by supporting the Mobile Health Clinic managed by GP Down South.
“Rotary members have also helped farmers by pulling down burnt fencing so they could erect new ones,” he said.
To see a ShelterBox for yourself or to find out more about Rotary, visit the display at the Pinjarra Garden Day outside the Anglican Church Hall in Murray Street, opposite the Edenvale Homestead.
For more information about the Pinjarra Garden Day see the Friends of Edenvale Facebook page.
