“At such times I ran the mantra through my head that “it’s better to do something than do nothing. It’s better to do something than do nothing”


“I realized that all my training and skills I had gained during my police career were what I needed as a response volunteer. I knew that this was something that would add fulfilment to my life. I have a lovely healthy family and enough to live on, so volunteering for ShelterBox was my chance to give something back.”


Since completing his ShelterBox


response team training in 2009, David has helped deliver aid to disaster zones all over the world, including the Haiti earthquake in 2010.


“I thought that I had experienced


disaster after being involved in the Herald of Free Enterprise and Paddington as well as numerous other situations involving mass death, so I thought I knew what to expect. But it pales into insignificance compared with what Mother Nature can do.”


“With hundreds of thousands dead and injured, millions of people homeless and destruction as far as the eye could see, this was bigger than anything I had imagined.


“At times we’d been building tents all


day and thought we were making progress, only to look up and see thousands more families without proper shelter. It was the start of the rainy season and at night you could hear the children crying as


they lay in their temporary shelters getting soaking wet. It was the most heart-wrenching sound I have ever experienced or imagined.


“At such times I ran the mantra


through my head that ‘it’s better to do something than do nothing. It’s better to do something than do nothing’ We were never going to have enough kit or the


can make sure that we not only deliver aid to communities as soon as possible, but that we don’t have to leave desperate families with nothing.”


David has also helped to bring aid in


“At night you could hear the children crying as they lay in their temporary shelters getting soaking wet. It was the most heart- wrenching sound I have ever experienced or imagined.”


means to help everyone as quickly as they needed it, but at least we could help those we did. It taught me to stay focused and realistic.


“Undoubtedly there were families we


couldn’t help because we simply didn’t have enough kit to help everyone in need, which is why it is important that we build up prepositioned stock of kit around the world. With our support we


Founded in 2000, the project is part of Rotary International and now employs 50 people, mostly volunteers, from its base in Cornwall.


It operates on a budget of less that £10million –


a pittance when compared with some of the larger disaster charities, such as Red Cross. The charity delivers aid to disaster zones around the world


to people who have lost their homes. Each year, 27.5 million people lose their homes through floods, landslides, volcanoes and other natural disasters – or conflict. More than 50 million people are currently displaced. It works on the basis of “respect” and those helped are


referred to as beneficiaries, rather than victims. The 50kg box contains a shelter, mosquito nets, pots and


the Philipines after typhoons in 2010 and 2013 and led a response team to flooding and landslides in Nepal in 2014.


He volunteers for two foreign aid


missions each year, claiming that wife Chris, with whom he has two sons and five grandchildren, has set a limit on his trips. He joked: “Any more than two a year, and she says it’s all over, and I’m not risking that, even for ShelterBox.”


pans, a stove, water filtration equipment and some basic tools, plus books and pencils for the children, and solar lights. Each box costs £590 to fill and to ship. The charity has helped 200 disaster zones in 90 countries and now has bases around the world in hubs such as Dubai and Panama, where boxes are kept ready to be airlifted to disaster zones at a moment’s notice. A 40ft truck can transport 224 boxes by road and sea. The charity has recently introduced a Shelter Repair Kit, which contains hammers, nails, spade, tarpaulin and a saw to enable people to repair their homes if they are still standing, but damaged by earthquake or some other disaster. If you would like to help or for more details, visit www.shelterbox.org


Mid Kent Living 9


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