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On the 23rd August, Albany Rotary clubs organised a bike ride
commencing from the Old Gaol and following the usual course for the
Christmas run finishing in Alison Hartman Gardens.
The ride was in
support of a motorcycling Rotarian, Des Watts from Berri, SA. He is
riding around Oz on his BMW R100LT raising money for the purchase of
Shelter Boxes.
Shelter Box is a global Rotary humanitarian program that provides
shelter, comfort and dignity to people affected by natural disasters.
These boxes are like an oversize esky, weighing about 60kgs when full.
The kit includes items like a 10 person tent, thermal blankets,
liquid-fuelled stove, cooking utensils, a shovel, hammer and saw plus
lots of other useful items. (Could be handy for our week away, eh - but
who will carry it?) A sample of a Shelter Box was set up in a display
on the lawn and a video of the scheme was running while people enjoyed
a snag and drinks.
It was incredible what actually came out and I wouldn’t like to be
the one trying to put it all back. Since its inception in 2003, Shelter
Box Australia has raised over $3.5 m and at a cost of $1,200 per box,
equates to close to 3,000 boxes and 30,000 people sheltered.
Nearby countries where these boxes have been deployed, are New
Guinea, the Solomon’s, Java, East Timor, and earlier his year Burma and
China.
Before arriving in Albany, Des had already raised about $40,000 in
donations and thanks to the support of the people of Albany and
Mt Barker, the local Rotary clubs and the biking fraternity, another 2
Shelter Boxes can now be purchased.
Des was very impressed by the turnout for the ride and reckons it is
a good sign for the Ulysses conference in 2010. Due to time constraints
in getting to Esperance, Des was unable to join the club on their Squid
Shack ride.