AQUABOX « Rotary District 1220

AQUABOX – TONGA AND THE PHILIPPINES NEED CLEAN WATER

Posted by webmaster Mark on January 25, 2022

Following recent disasters both Tonga and The Philippines are in desperate need of clean drinking water.

At this time of the year in Southeast Asia, disasters seem to come thick and fast. Aquabox are currently looking at ways to send water filters to both Tonga and the Philippines.

In late December Super Typhoon Rai hit the Visayas and Mindanao Islands in the Philippine leaving millions of people in need of assistance and over half a million people without access to clean water and sanitation. Typhoon Rai brought torrential rains, violent winds, landslides, and storm surges that cut off water services and contaminated reservoirs and water sources. It compromised access to safe water and sanitation facilities, heightening the risk of communicable disease outbreaks. Many affected people are now subsisting on springs and hand pumps for water, many of which are reported to have been contaminated by flood and sea waters.

Then in January, the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano, near Tonga generated tsunami waves up to 49 feet (15 meters) high that hit the west coast of Tonga’s main island. It also covered the whole island in a 2cm layer of fine ash. All 100,000 inhabitants were affected. Widespread stagnant pools of salt water, coupled with the volcanic ash, are polluting drinking water sources, according to the Red Cross. “Securing access to safe drinking water is a critical immediate priority,” pointing to the mounting risk of diarrhoea and diseases such as cholera.

Aquabox is currently working with its partners on the feasibility of establishing safe and secure distribution routes to both disaster areas. We are planning to ship a combination of Family Filters and Community Filters. The filters will enable more than 16,000 people (8,000 in each area) to have clean, safe water for drinking, cooking, and washing but with airfreight costs, the shipment will cost the charity £30,000.

Aquabox needs your help with the cost of these humanitarian aid shipments.

Any surplus donations will be put towards similar disasters in the future.

PLEASE HELP US HELP THEM

#aquabox #cleandrinkingwater #charity #rotary #humanitarianaid #tonga #philippines #District1220

Disaster Appeals

Posted by webmaster Mark on September 6, 2017

The weather is causing lots of hardship at the moment. Below are some of the International appeals happening right now.

Hurricane Harvey

Dear Rotarians,

As I am sure you all know, many of the cites along the Gulf Coast of the United States have been devastated by category 4 Hurricane Harvey with winds of over 130 miles an hour and over 50 inches of rain. It’s the heaviest storm on record anywhere in the U.S. outside Hawaii and it is still raining.

This severe rainfall has caused historic flooding along the Texas coast, including in Houston. Deluged towns in the region are in desperate need of aid as thousands of residents were forced to flee their homes. Cities like Rockport, Texas have been completely destroyed. The Greater Houston area with a population of over 6.5 million people (the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the United States) has had over 3.7 million people leave the region in the evacuation effort. Others remained trapped inside their homes, as entire neighborhoods were submerged.

Hurricane Harvey is predicted to be the costliest natural disaster in the history of the U.S., with a damage cost exceeding Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina. AccuWeather predicts that the damage cost will hit $160 billion.

Earlier this morning, Presidential Aide Don Mebus and Past RI Director Greg Podd hosted a strategy conference call with governors from Districts 5930, 5840, 5890, 5910 and 6200 in Texas and Louisiana to develop a cohesive response.

A Gulf Coast Disaster Relief Donor Advised Fund (DAF) has been established by Greg Podd and President-Elect Barry Rassin through The Rotary Foundation to collect relief contributions. Don and Greg are working with leaders from the affected districts to create a process for disbursing DAF funds to their respective district foundations or local 501c3 organizations to support local relief efforts.

If you would like to help please go to the following link: https://www.rotary.org/en/rotary-districts-collect-emergency-funds-hurricane-harvey-victims

If you would like to make a contribution by credit card please go to the following link: https://www.your-fundaccount.com/rotary/HowToContribute.asp

The Name of the DAF (Donor Advised Fund) is The Gulf Coast Disaster Relief Donor Advised Fund. The Account Number of the DAF (Donor Advised Fund) is 608

ShelterBox, Rotary’s partner for disaster relief, is providing tents for use as ‘privacy tents’ to be pitched within the convention centers housing families that have been evacuated.

Please direct inquiring Rotarians to the web story on Rotary.org for the most up-to-date information or to contact RI by writing to relief@rotary.org.

Please share this information with your fellow Rotarians and Rotary Clubs.

Thank you in advance for any assistance you can give.

Dean Rohrs
Rotary International Vice President 2017-18

Download (PDF, 810KB)

Hurricane Irma

In light of the problems being caused in the Caribbean by Hurricane Irma the RIBI Donations Trust trustees have decided to re-open the Caribbean Hurricane Appeal which was originally set up last year.

The link for donations is:

https://mydonate.bt.com/events/caribbeanhurricane