ROTARY District Governor, Richard Maunder visited Andover Rotary to present the club with both a bronze and silver award to mark their efforts in helping more than 1,000 people in crisis.

It was in recognition of the donations that the club has made over the last four years to fill over 80 shelter boxes that have been sent to various countries hit by natural disasters.

It would not have been possible without the generosity and magnificent support by the people of Andover and would like to thank anybody who has helped in any way. The boxes sent by the Rotary Club of Andover will have provided emergency shelter for over 1,000 people.

The shelter box charity has been operating for the past eight years and organises the holding and distribution of the boxes and provides immediate emergency relief for people affected by a disaster and enables them to start to rebuild their lives.

Very often the boxes are the first help to reach a disaster scene. The shelter box charity has sent out over 45,000 boxes that have provided temporary accommodation for 600,000 destitute people affected by earthquakes, hurricanes, cyclones, floods and war zones.

The boxes normally contain a ten-person tent together with a selection of equipment to enable survival for six months.

The exact contents will depend on local conditions but will usually include thermal blankets, a multi-fuel or wood-burning cooking stove, cooking equipment, water purification equipment, a basic tool kit and a children’s pack of drawing and writing materials.

A shelter box costs £490 and every box is individually numbered. Donors can check where their box has been sent on the Shelterbox website, shelterbox.org.

If anybody would like further information the person to contact is Rotarian John Stewart on Andover 323153.