I’ve had the call

stripped in a phone box

and now I’m ready to rock and roll.

Shelterbox needs a hand and I have two, which means I’m fully qualified to head out to Sumatra on Saturday and do some good.  (Actually, it’s not quite as easy as that. I did have to pass a 9-day ‘ard as nails’ training course)

But by the end of October I’ll be able to pitch a tent, in the dark, with my hands tied behind my back, coated from top to toe in anti-mozzy cream. If it goes really well I’ll have taught about a hundred people to do it too.

You see SRT’s have a really important job to do, because if we don’t do it the chaps who sponsor the money to pay for the equipment that goes in the box, the hard working bods who pack the boxes ready to stack and the super organised team who get them delivered to where they need to go, will have wasted valuable time and money.

For Shelterbox to be successful they’ve got to make sense of a huge logistical nightmare! Imagine what would happen if all the boxes just turned up at the site of an earthquake, unannounced? Most of the local people will have lost family, friends, and probably their home. They ‘d have difficulty knowing how to set up the wood-burning stove; they’d also be pretty stuck translating the English instructions for the 10-man tents. But that’s where we step in…. the Shelterbox Response Team (SRT)

Simply put, this is what we do:

We get the boxes out of Customs.

We talk to local Rotary representatives to find out the lay of the land and who has been affected.

We reccie potential sites, so we can set up tent villages for those most in need.

We teach local people to pitch the tents and use the equipment

We tell Shelterbox HQ if more boxes are needed

And finally…

We get home safe and sound because job’s a goodun’.

Smoke me a kipper I’ll be back for breakfast!

And that’s it in a nutshell. On Saturday I’m off to do this incredible job, and no doubt I’ll be a very different person when I get back. I won’t lie to you; I am feeling more than just a little bit nervous right now.  It’s a huge responsibility and a great privilege; I just hope I don’t let my team down. And anyway I need to get home in one piece or my Mother will kill me!

So until I see you on the other side…

Sal x

Support Shelterbox, please go to www.shelterbox.org 

Shelterbox & Rotary

It's been a week that many will never forget ...

An earthquake in Sumatra, a tsunami in Somoa 

 

I support a humanitarian charity called ShelterBox and this is what General Manager Lasse Petersen said:

'In all our history, we've never known a string of disasters hit so thick and so fast. Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by these disasters and we're doing everything within our power to ensure aid reaches the people who need it.

'This is a huge challenge for us but one we're well equipped to deal with and one we're meeting head on. We always need help at times like this, be it a donation of time to come and help us pack boxes or a monetary donation to help us replenish our stocks. We're incredibly grateful for all the support we receive, no matter how big or how small.'

I spoke for the charity at a conference for Rotary District 1070 and this is the fabulous feedback I received from Kibworth & Fleckney Rotary Club:

“We had a great conference thanks and the speakers were inspirational especially Sally Kettle. You will be pleased to learn that following her enthusiastic and modest presentation we have agreed at our Club tonight to use up some of our hard earned cash and donate two Shelterboxes. One of them (before it gets sent off) will be used to raise awareness in local schools about the work of Rotary and the Shelterbox scheme.”

The club will be receiving a demonstration box so that both their Shelterboxes can go out to where they are needed.

If you would like more information or would like to donate please visit the Shelterbox website.

Thank you,

Sally