Rotary New Zealand World Community Service Packing Emergency Response Kits.

Emergency Response Kits are distributed following disasters including tsunami, cyclones and floods in Oceania and the South Pacific. Families can lose everything when disasters strike and they need help immediately. In a few short minutes, an earthquake, tsunami, flood or cyclone can take away whole villages - loved ones, homes, belongings, crops and animals, livelihoods.

You can assist in a practical way by helping New Zealand Rotarians supply distressed and displaced families with Emergency Response Kits (ERKs).

In an emergency, the most pressing need is for basic supplies to help a family survive the first few days. They need shelter, food, clothing, drinking water, bedding, tools and medical supplies. People can be difficult to reach therefore Kits must be light enough to be airlifted and carried by two people. No time must be lost so Kits are kept in safe storage close to where they’re likely to be needed. They can be distributed within days, sometimes hours, of a humanitarian emergency.

Each Kit holds over 60 items packed in a 78-litre container which can be used to treat drinking water – there are purifying tablets for this purpose.

With a little ingenuity, families can create a shelter from tarpaulins using the hammer and nails provided. There’s a folding shovel for digging trenches. Food is key so there’s fishing gear, a hunting knife, and cooking equipment. As well as basic clothing, there are bed covers for warmth. Maintaining hygiene and treating minor injuries is important too; a medical pack with items such as soap, painkillers and antiseptic cream provides the basics. 

The contents of the Kits are reviewed regularly based on feedback from partners in the Pacific and communities that have received the boxes. 

A complete ERK costs $600 but every dollar helps towards assembling the Kits with their life-saving contents and having them airfreighted. Thank you for your contribution.