Cyclone Idai 2019

Reaching out to East Africa

So many times in the past, the public in our area have given generously to help us provide aid to those hit by a national disaster of one kind or another and, on so many of those occasions, we have donated the public’s money to one of the major, Rotary approved charities, such as ShelterBox or WaterAid.

Both of these organisations do splendid work around the World, providing shelter and survival kits to those affected by natural disasters such as landslides, earth quakes, tidal waves, etc.   On this occasion, however, the disaster in West Africa was of such monumental proportions that we felt the need to more closely target our financial support and provide aid on an individual basis to as many families as possible.

LifeStraw Family provides 60 litres of clean water a day, which is sufficient for a family of five for three years – reconstruction in the region will take at least that time - so after some deliberation, our club decided to support District 9350’s ‘Rotary Water Filter Relief Fund’ and send the funds collected by our members directly to help this relief initiative.

In a matter of days, those funds were used to purchase family-size LifeStraws and, together with hundreds more purchased from the relief fund, transported by air to Mutare, the fourth largest city in Zimbabwe, where they were distributed by local Roatrians to people in the area. 

All in all, this is a magnificent example of ‘ Joined Up Rotary’ in action worldwide and the Oxted Rotary Club is proud to have partnered with Rotary in South Africa to ensure that our public’s generosity is rewarded in full by quickly maximising the relief provided to those in need.