[D9640general] [eFlash_Rotary] Digest Number 830

[Garry Krischock]

 Message 

1.
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eFlash_Rotary/message/1489;_ylc=X3oDMTJxdW43M
jg5BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzI3ODYwNzYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY0MDg2BG1zZ0lkAzE0O
DkEc2VjA2Rtc2cEc2xrA3Ztc2cEc3RpbWUDMTIyMjY3NDc5OQ--> 1571: Districts hit by
Hurricane Ike seek help 

Sun Sep 28, 2008 10:16 pm (PDT) 

Districts hit by Hurricane Ike seek help By Arnold R. Grahl
[http://www.rotary.org/SiteCollectionImages/News/ike4.jpg] 
[http://www.rotary.org/SiteCollectionImages/News/ike2.jpg]
Hugh Summers (right), District 5910 disaster preparedness chair, hands a
check to Red Cross Chair Bob Snow, of the Rotary Club of Palestine,
Texas, USA, to help cover the cost of sheltering 475 people after
Hurricane Ike swept through Texas. Photo courtesy of Summers. Below;
flood waters surround a house near Houma, Louisiana, USA. Photo courtesy
of PDG Billy Foster/District 6200.
At 72 years old, Rotarian Fred Sandberg was less inclined to ride out
the aftermath of Hurricane Ike than he might have been in his younger
days.

"Roughing it isn't as much fun now as it was when I was a cub scout,"
says Sandberg, a resident of Santa Fe, Texas, USA, and governor-elect of
District 5910.

So when he received an invitation from Past District Governor Hugh
Summers to stay at his home 240 miles north of the hurricane-stricken
Texas coastline, he jumped at it.

Sandberg was one of many Texas Rotarians who found shelter in the homes
of other Rotarians, either before or immediately after Ike hit. District
5910's Web site <http://www.rotary5910.org/> included a list of
Rotarians willing to provide shelter for other Rotarians.
Safe Harbor
District 5890 (Texas) created a Safe Harbor 
<http://www.clubrunner.ca/dprg/DxHome/dxstoriestab/_storyitem.aspx?did=5\
<http://www.clubrunner.ca/dprg/DxHome/dxstoriestab/_storyitem.aspx?did=5890&
index=5079&linkcat=4&tail=8&dir=f> 
890&index=5079&linkcat=4&tail=8&dir=f> program on their Web site
serving the same purpose, where district Rotarians offered up spare
bedrooms, dens, or floor space to their fellow Rotarians fleeing the
storm. District Governor-elect Ed Charlesworth of Houston was one of the
first to sign up his home as a safe harbor.

"A couple days before Ike hit, I said let's get this up on the Web
site," Charlesworth recalls. "Within 10 minutes, we got our first call
asking if the offer was still good. We said, 'Absolutely, come on
down.'"

Charlesworth ended up hosting three Rotarians he knew from his district
travels. Three others were scheduled to stay with him as well, but they
decided to seek refuge further inland. Charlesworth, who lives on the
north side of Houston -- about 60 miles from the coast -- lost five
trees, including one that fell on his roof.

"The neat thing is how Rotarians pooled together," Charlesworth says.
"While we were hosting, everyone pitched in. It's a very good feeling
being here and seeing how people are pulling together."

The storm has left many in need. District 5910 includes the counties of
Galveston, Jefferson, and Orange -- all declared disaster areas -- and
is home to 18 of its 42 clubs.

District Governor Roger McCabe says the district will use its donor
advised fund <http://www.rotary5910.org/> to channel money to those
who can put it to good use. Summers gave the Red Cross a check for
US$5,000 on 18 September to help with the housing of displaced people.
Worse than Rita
Meanwhile, in southern Louisiana, Ike made the situation worse for
Rotarians still mopping up after Hurricane Gustav.

Karin Viator, general secretary for District 6200 (Louisiana), says
Grand Isle, off the coast of Louisiana, won't have electricity until mid
October. Levees were breeched and homes flooded in Houma, Louisiana.
Delcambre and Erath are swamped after Ike poured more water onto
already-saturated ground.

"This water was worse than Hurricane Rita [in 2005]," Viator says. "We
need cleaning supplies like bleach, buckets, mops, etc., for people to
begin cleaning their homes. When you have lunch today, look at the ice
in your glass. That's a luxury in some areas of south Louisiana
today."

District 6200 has a hurricane relief fund 
<http://www.rotary6200.org/hurricane/> set up through its Web site for
those who want to help.

Source: Rotary International News / Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary

 

 

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