11 November 2012
Vice Regal Patronage
His Excellency Lieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Jerry Mateparae GNZM, QSO

ShelterBox New Zealand is delighted and honoured to announce that His Excellency Lieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Jerry Mateparae GNZM, QSO, Governor General of New Zealand, has graciously accepted an invitation to become our Vice-Regal Patron.

In accepting the appointment His Excellency said, ‘I take this opportunity to convey my best wishes for the ongoing success of ShelterBox New Zealand, and to acknowledge the valuable work the organisation is doing to assist vulnerable communities around the world’.

His Excellency’s Patronage sends a message to the NZ public that ShelterBox is a professional organisation committed to delivering emergency humanitarian aid to families in need on every continent. From the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami to the 2011 Japanese earthquake and most recently in Fiji and the Philippines, ShelterBox has deployed to some of the largest disasters the modern world has ever known.

ShelterBox New Zealand is a not-for-profit entirely managed by volunteers, predominantly from the Rotary community. In just twelve years the charity has grown from a small Rotary-funded project based in Cornwall, UK, to a massive global operation helping tens of thousands of people each year and which now has affiliates in 21 countries around the world.

Across the world, ShelterBox has highly trained volunteer first responders (SRTs) who assess and deliver ShelterBoxes into disaster areas. New Zealand’s five SRTs have this year been deployed to Fiji and the Philippines. Elsewhere, SRTs have deployed to more than 200 disasters in over 75 countries. Currently, a ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) is delivering aid following devastating flooding which has consumed large swathes of Nigeria. Over a million people have been displaced in the African country where the worst flooding in 50 years has caused rivers to swell and forced families to flee their homes.

The ShelterBox response is simple and effective and delivers the essentials that a family needs to survive in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Each iconic, green ShelterBox is tailored to each disaster but typically contains a large family sized tent, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other essential items.

ENDS

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