Our speaker on Tuesday night at Howick Rotary was Sally Fletcher. Sally is one of our new members and we first met her when David Owen introduced her as a speaker.
Tonight Sally addressed us as a member about her involvement with this amazing charity and her “devotion to the cause.” She has a number of overseas deployments and seen both the horrors and misery faced by people whose lives are adversely affected by disasters regardless of whether they are caused by nature or are manmade. There are millions of individuals and families whose lives are devasted by these events and causes such as Shelterbox enable us to add our support to well planned and effectively managed relief efforts.
We watched a video that told the story of a community in Malawi devasted by a sudden flood. We heard in their own translated words the stories of some of the villagers. Together they progressed from despair to hope. Their gratitude for what we would see as very basic assistance and support moved me greatly. I recommend that you Google Shelterbox or go to www.shelterbox.org.nz to find out much more about this outstanding organisation. And while you are there consider how you as an individual and we as a club can support Sally and her colleagues in practical ways.
Sally Fletcher and Shelterbox