History

Disaster Aid UK and Ireland has its origins in the Rotary Emergency Box. The idea of a Rotary Emergency Box was conceived in the then Rotary District 105 (now 1285) by the late Arthur Bowker. Arthur was a founder member of the Rotary Club of Manchester South, a past president of the Rotary Club of Dukinfield and Stalybridge, and a member, at that time, of the Rotary Club of Ashton-under-Lyne and a member of the District’s International Committee.

Arthur recognised that there were people affected by all kinds of natural disasters around the world who had lost everything they owned. Provision of a few very basic things quickly would help these people survive. He also knew that Rotary was a huge force for good with a global reach. The concept of a Rotary box with contents for survival was born. The concept was taken to Rotary District Assembly in 1971 and adopted by Rotary International of Great Britain & Ireland in 1974.

From 1975 to 2002, more than 30,000 Emergency Boxes were shipped around the world.

In 2002, the decision was taken to change the contents from a selection of new or second-hand items to a standard set of new items. This was because the inconsistency in the contents of the box often caused problems at customs and did not always meet the requirements of the recipients. This meant that instead of clubs packing the boxes, we packed them ourselves and the costs of the contents and shipping the filled boxes were met by donations. To emphasis this major change, the name of our box was changed to “LifeBox” .

In 2010 we were asked by fellow Rotarians in  Canada, USA and Australia to join them in a new humanitarian relief organisation called Disaster Aid International. We agreed and changed our name to Disaster Aid UK & Ireland. The pooling of our respective resources and expertise inevitably resulted in an organisation that now has a significant impact on disaster relief.

Disaster Aid International currently has Partners in: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Thailand, South Africa, Uruguay, UK & Ireland, and USA.

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