This Week - Business Meeting

 There's not much you can say about a Business Meeting in advance as you will all get the agenda anyway.

Last Week

Professor Steven Friedman spoke to us on the GNU and pointed out that it's really a coalition between the ANC and the DA but is called a Government of National Unity for political reasons.  This was before the cabinet was announced.  It was, as always, a very interesting talk and it's worthwhile having him as a guest from time to time.

Next Week 

It's a bit of a conundrum as Mike Ratcliffe is currently on holiday and I haven't received a confirmation so I have invited a replacement and I am waiting to hear from them.  I will update the speaker on the side panel as soon as possible.  Don't worry, it won't be me.

International - Refugee Needs

This World Refugee Day, 20 June, let’s celebrate the resilience of displaced communities. As a Rotary partner in disaster response, we are constantly adapting the support we offer to meet a community’s needs and uphold industry best practices. Our practical and flexible approach to shelter allows us to provide the right support for people after they experience traumatic events. 

Dome tents

From our first response to the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat, India, we became known for our domed tents. As we responded in different climates, we adapted our tent design, adding extra ventilation, further rain protection, and a silver lining for heat retention and reflection. 

UN Family Tent
Families use the UN Family Tent in Northern Syria, where people have been displaced for many years.

We learned from the people we supported and from other organisations in the sector that sometimes a standard approach across organisations can help avoid unnecessary conflict between communities. For example, in Syria in 2013, ShelterBox worked alongside governments and other charities to provide a standard disaster shelter, the UN Family Tent. These tents are large and better suited to some of the communities that were displaced for more than a year.

Shelter kits

A tent is not always the right shelter solution. When there has been a flood or homes are destroyed in war or extreme weather, there isn’t always space for a tent or solid ground on which to place them. In situations where homes are minimally to moderately damaged, homes may still need repairs before they are safe. 

ShelterBox also provides shelter kits with practical items to repair homes or to create shelter where tents are not possible. In 2014, we began providing shelter kits in Paraguay and northern Syria because our responses in urban areas needed more flexible shelter. We provided practical kits, including two heavy-duty tarpaulins, a spade, a hammer, a saw, nails, and wire, which recipients could use to create shelter that best fit their space.

We provided shelter kits for families to repair roofs and walls after Typhoon Rai fell in the Philippines in early 2022.

Other materials and solutions

In Burkina Faso, we support people displaced by conflict. We have been adapting shelter structures to suit cultural customs and extreme climate situations, providing the Sahelian Tent. The design uses tarpaulins stretched over a locally sourced wooden frame and has large openings to allow good airflow – much like the tents that nomads of the Sahel live in.

The Sahelian Tent supporting displaced people fleeing violence in Burkina Faso.

In Nigeria, ShelterBox partnered with ACTED, an organization that worked with carpenters to build Bama Shelters that were more suited to local construction practises, to support communities displaced by violence. People expected to remain in transitional shelter for longer than a year in limited space and with a large flux in the number of people living there. Using heavy-duty tarpaulins wrapped around a timber frame, the Bama Shelters create homes for up to five people and have windows and an internal partition to provide privacy or to allow smaller families to live together.

Philomena lives with her family in a Bama Shelter in a displacement camp in Nigeria after violent attacks forced them to flee.