SHELTERBOX PROVIDING AID IN 2010

HAITI - FOLLOWING A MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE SHELTERBOX BEGAN ONE OF ITS BIGGEST EVER DEPLOYMENTS.

On the afternoon of Tuesday 12th January as massive earthquake struck Port au Prince in Haiti and the surrounding area.  Within 12 minutes of the quake a Shelterbox Response Team were preparing to leave their homes in the UK and USA to travel to Haiti.  At the same time ShelterBox at their HQ in Helston set about despatching 900+ Shelterboxes from the warehouse in Cornwall and forward prepared stock in central America.

Virgin Atlantic aided in the airlift of alot of the Shelterboxes to Miami.  As well as the team on the ground that arrived on Thursday 14th January two logistical teams were set up in Miami and in Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic to handle the flow of Shelterboxes coming through.

The first shelter boxes arrive in Port a Prince in a French Red Cross aircraft on Tuesday 19th January.  Many of the initial consignment of boxes were put into action as recovery wards at field hospitals.

Tuesday 02 February 2010

Thousands of Haitians to move into ShelterBox tent city

 Soldiers from the US Military's 82nd Airborne Division unload ShelterBoxes in Port au Prince, Haiti. Photograph: Mark Pearson

Thousands of people left homeless by the devastating Haiti earthquake are due to start moving into a camp with hundreds of ShelterBox tents this week.

Situated near to the US Embassy in Port au Prince, the encampment, named Congress Camp, will house thousands of refugees from the centre of the city allowing them to stay close to their communities and carry on with their daily lives.

ShelterBox’s Response Team (SRT) in Port au Prince has been working around the clock to help set up the camp with hundreds of disaster relief tents, each of which can house an extended family of up to 10 people. The team has worked closely with the French aid agency ACTED and IOM (International Organisation for Migration) to create the tent city which is also equipped with showers and latrines.

John Leach, ShelterBox’s Head of Operations, said: ‘This is an urban camp which means people can carry on with their daily lives and won’t be forced to locations outside of Port au Prince.

‘We have a huge number of tents here which will provide shelter to thousands of people and give them a chance to start rebuilding their lives. But we also have tent encampments set up in several other locations in and around Port au Prince and thousands more ShelterBoxes on their way to the city.’

US Military Support

In Delmas, a suburb of Port au Prince, work is continuing to provide emergency shelter to families with newborn babies and pregnant women. Additional tents have been set up with the help of the US Military’s 82nd Airborne Division.

SRT member Mark Pearson (UK) said: ‘Forty additional ShelterBoxes were dropped here to replenish the camp and now more than 200 families are living in this camp. We could not operate without the full support of the US military and state department in this area.’
 

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Tents provide shelter for the most vulnerable in Haiti

 Ulrigue Idal gave birth to 2 day old Edwige at the Centre D'Ebergement and is now staying in a ShelterBox tent. Photograph: Mark Pearson

Families with newborn babies and pregnant women have been given emergency shelter by the ShelterBox Response Team operating in Haiti.

The Response Team have set up a ShelterBox camp for up to 1,000 people on the Henfrasa sports field in Delmas, Port au Prince, Haiti, providing emergency shelter for the most in need and the most vulnerable.

ShelterBox Response Team member and General Manager Lasse Petersen said: ‘We agreed with the local community that the initial tent allocation would be for families with pregnant women and families with newborns.

‘We’re prioritising women and children, providing disaster relief tents, blankets, water containers, children’s packs and kitchenware, basically enough to set up families who have lost everything.

‘The Dutch marines have been very helpful for us in providing storage at Port au Prince airport as well as providing security to our team during the distribution of aid. There are hundreds of thousands of people left homeless but this is the first of our deliveries with
many thousands more to come.’

Haitian hope

Aid for more than 20,000 people has already arrived in Haiti and is being distributed by the Response Team with the help of the Dutch marines, Rotarians, French aid agency ACTED and the French Red Cross.

ShelterBox’s team of volunteers in the UK are continuing their hard work packing boxes. Another 3,000 ShelterBoxes are due to arrive by the end of this week taking ShelterBoxes commitment of boxes above the 5,000 mark.

Haiti’s President Rene Preval has urgently appealed for more tents to house the estimated 1.5 million people made homeless by the earthquake.

ShelterBox’s Mark Pearson, who has now been in Haiti for nearly two weeks, said: ‘There are hundreds of thousands of people who are injured. The walking wounded are everywhere.

‘People are being taken to hospital in wheelbarrows with their legs bandaged up with plastic bags. The people here are very scared to live in the buildings and only feel safe in the tents. Shelter, medical care, water and food are important. They are the most basic things people are screaming out for. Aid is staring to arrive so there is a lot of hope here.’

Click here to listen to Mark Pearson talking to Rotary international

Lasse Petersen added:  ‘Port au Prince is overflowing with encampments of people sleeping without basic shelter. The demand remains enormous, but with the help of our donors, ShelterBox has flown five aircraft and over 2,000 ShelterBoxes to aid those left homeless by the quake.

‘In the hospitals, orphanages and local communities we are making a difference and thousands of more boxes are en route.'

Click here to watch a video of the camp in Delmas being set up.

Click here to see more photos from ShelterBox in Haiti.
 

SHELTERBOX PROVIDING AID IN 2009

Shelterbox are once again at the places where people need most need, namely Kinglake in Victoria,  in Gaza working with other NGOs to get much needed shelter into Gaza and in Sri Lanka. 

Below are reports from ShelterBox.

ShelterBoxes sent to Sri Lanka
 

Wednesday 13 May, SRI LANKA: 224 ShelterBoxes are being distributed today in Menik Farm (Zone 3) in the Vanni region to give shelter to vulnerable IDPs with special needs who have escaped the fighting in the area. An additional 224 ShelterBoxes are due to arrive in Menik Farm by 16 May. ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) volunteers John Mackie (US) and John Cordell (US) are supervising the distribution. “We are working closely with our partners on the ground to get the ShelterBoxes despatched as soon as we can,” says John Mackie. “We will be giving much needed shelter to the most vulnerable people who have been forced to leave their homes because of the fighting.” ShelterBox is working in Sri Lanka with local Rotarians, Habitat for Humanity, the International Organisation for Migration and the United Nations. “We are continuing to assess the situation on the ground on a daily basis and will send additional assistance if it is needed,” says ShelterBox Operations Manager Pete Sykes.

Tuesday 5 May, SRI LANKA: 448 ShelterBoxes are being sent to Sri Lanka to provide shelter to those who have lost their homes in the current conflict. The boxes are being despatched from prepositioned stock in Singapore and Dubai and are expected to arrive in the country by 7 May. ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) volunteers John Mackie (US) and John Cordell (US) are leaving for Sri Lanka to replace the current SRT members Mike Greenslade(UK) and Dave Webber (UK) at the end of this week. “The team has been working hard identifying where the greatest need is and making sure we have the right paperwork to start work on the ground,” says ShelterBox Operations Manager Pete Sykes. “I am pleased to say that we now have permits to start operating in the field. A big thanks to local Rotarians for their help in liaising with the appropriate authorities.” In addition to local Rotarians, ShelterBox is also working with Habitat for Humanity, The International Organisation for Migration and the UN. The UN estimates that more than 150,000 people have been displaced in recent months as the fighting has intensified.

ShelterBox operational in Gaza
 

Mark Pearson now returning from Gaza confirmed that he was able to train 10 members of the Palestinian Youth Association to assist with the continuing set up of the camp in Beit Lahia. Mark says, "We replaced old tents that had been useless during the heavy rain over the weekend and all their mattresses and clothing were wet. The old tents let in water. As there is a lot of rubble I used breeze blocks instead of pegs on the tents. The families at Salatine camp are fed once every two days, they have no cookers, the children are very frightened of the constant military activity. As we were setting up the tents between 08:00 - 13:00 in Beit Lahia there were 14 mortars fired from only 1/2 km away and 2 Quassam rockets and then a Israeli drone fired on the militants." Mark was also able to confirm that, "ShelterBox is operational now and I am satisfied the route works, we have trained people on the ground and there is a need for 400 more tents."

First tents up in Gaza
 

Thursday 5 March - GAZA: SRT Mark Pearson has supervised the distribution of the first 50 of the 200 ShelterBoxes that have now arrived in the Gaza Strip. The boxes went to the Beit Lahia camp close to the Israeli border which was badly damaged in the recent fighting. “The conditions are appalling at Beit Lahia,” says Mark. “The shelter they have is totally inadequate. It has been raining heavily for the last three days and all their bedding and clothes are completely soaked. They were so happy to receive our tents.” The remaining 150 ShelterBoxes will be distributed by mid-March. Mark has been in the region for 40 days working to secure the delivery of ShelterBoxes into the Gaza Strip.
 

Gaza homeless to receive help at last
 

Tuesday 3 March - GAZA: 200 ShelterBoxes are due to arrive in the Gaza Strip tomorrow, giving urgently needed relief to the many thousands of people left homeless by the recent conflict. SRT Mark Pearson has been in the region since late January working to facilitate the delivery of the boxes, which were despatched from the UK in early February. “The main obstacle has been getting access into the Gaza Strip,” says Mark. “The borders between Israel and Egypt have been virtually sealed despite the acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza. There are still many thousands of people without shelter who desperately need our help.” The boxes have been transported to the Israeli town of Ashkelon, north of the Gazan border, for onward despatch into the Gaza Strip by the United Nations. “We have excellent relations with local aid agencies on the ground and we will be working with them to get the boxes distributed to those who need them as quickly as possible,” adds Mark.

ShelterBoxes greatly appreciated in Australia

BUSHFIRE RESPONSE PROVIDES COMFORT (Australian ShelterBox Website  16th FEb)
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd praises ShelterBox aid in Kinglake
ShelterBoxes containing dome tents, multi-fuel cookers, thermal blankets, tools and other basic equipment have been gratefully accepted by many survivors of the worst natural disaster in Australia’s history ... Black Saturday. Inspecting the area yesterday, the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, Victorian Premier John Brumby, Victoria Police Commissioner Christine Nixon (who will soon head up the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority) and head of the Australian Defence Force, Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston stopped to talk with recipients and ShelterBox Australia General Manager Jenni Heenan and SRT members. “The Prime Minister was keenly interested in the ShelterBox response, and praised all Rotarians for their selfless commitment and help at this critical time,” Jenni said.

John Brumby [L] with Rotarian SRTs Eb Friedrich (Woodend) and Mark Mallman (Whittlesea), Jenni Heenan [third from R] with Rotarians and the Prime Minister (centre).

Thursday 12th February - AUSTRALIA: 50 ShelterBoxes were successful delivered to the fire-ravaged Whittlesea area yesterday. Forty boxes were distributed in Kinglake and 10 at the Whittlesea Recovery Centre. ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) volunteers Eb Friedrich (Rotary Club of Woodend) and Mark Mallman (Rotary Club of Whittlesea) were on hand for the distribution. The volunteers were joined by Jenni Heenan, General Manager for ShelterBox's Australian Affiliate office who comments, “When people saw what the ShelterBoxes contain, they could not believe they were being given a tent, blankets, a cooker and other equipment."
The Department of Human Service (DHS), working with the Victoria Police and the Australian Army is assessing further needs – a decision is likely later today. Indications are that ShelterBoxes may be needed in Marysville (where virtually the entire township has disappeared), Flowerdale, Yea, Narbethong and Buxton.  Below can bed seen SRT members with Chaplains working in Kinglake Victoria and the process of unloading through to the finished encampment.

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