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26th October, Pakistan: Team fly out to begin aid distribution
A four-man ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) flies to Pakistan today to oversee the distribution of aid sent to help earthquake victims in Kashmir.
Following a direct appeal from Pakistan’s National Rural Support Programme (NRSP), emergency accommodation for another 8,000 people has been sent to the mountainous region.
The SRT is being led by Ken Wilkins, a Camborne police inspector, (cont. right)
26th October: Plea for help in Kashmir
Pakistan: More aid is on its way to earthquake victims in the Kashmir region following an official request for more help.
One year after the devastating earthquake that hit Pakistani-administered Kashmir on 8th October 2005 many people are still living in flimsy shelters and canvas tents unsuitable for the winter conditions now approaching.
Last year’s earthquake destroyed the homes of around 3.5 million people and killed at least 80,000. In the months following, ShelterBox Response Teams (SRTs) provided emergency accommodation for around 130,000 people as they helped deploy the charity’s rugged dome tents – designed for extreme weather conditions – to villages across the mountainous region. (cont. right)
Further aid for Africa
Somalia: The next consignment of aid being sent as part of ShelterBox’s A Million In Africa initiative is now on its way to Somalia.
A sea container holding another 224 boxes, plus additional water containers, left the Helston warehouse yesterday. The boxes will travel by ship to Mombasa in Kenya, where they will be handed over to UNICEF for distribution to camps in Somalia.
The UN estimates that around 750,000 people have been displaced by 15 years of civil war in Somalia. Around 400,000 of these are now living in camps set up by UNICEF in the south of the country and around the capital, Mogadishu, while other refugees have fled into neighbouring countries.
A previous consignment of 214 boxes that was shipped from the UK in late August has now reached Africa and is with UNICEF ready for distribution.
NATIONAL SCHOOLS PROJECT LAUNCHED
28 Sept 2006
New homes for displaced Timorese
East Timor: A team of Australian volunteers has distributed 200 ShelterBoxes in East Timor, where civil unrest has displaced large numbers of people.
The boxes sent each contained two tents – providing accommodation for around 4,000 people – and have been distributed through local church organisations and other agencies working in the country, including the Red Cross.
East Timor only gained independence in 2002 but was plunged into chaos earlier this year when protests over army sackings turned violent. Although a 2,500-strong international peace-keeping force has since been deployed, many families still do not feel safe to return to their homes.
Darren Mayne from ShelterBox Australia said the first boxes were delivered to a local convent and an orphanage in the capital, Dili. He said: "We heard a similar story in both locations. Due to the current turmoil and unrest people do not feel safe in their houses of a night time so convents and orphanages tend to swell of a night-time as people gather for safety.
The ShelterBox team also delivered 115 of the boxes to camps set up by the Ryder-Cheshire Foundation in an area about 20 minutes drive away from Dili. Darren added: "A number of the people were from Dili and have moved away to the safety of this area. I really felt we made a difference when we went back on the Friday and saw the all the tents set up in little clusters.
The kids were playing and running around having fun and the general feeling was a ‘happier’ one than when we first arrived."
1st. Sept. 2006:
Huge challenge in Lebanon
The first pictures of ShelterBox tents amidst the ruins of shattered buildings in Lebanon show the extent of the challenge now facing the people of that country.
ShelterBox’s photographer Mark Pearson is in Lebanon to see how aid sent by the charity is being used. Enough tents to house more than 6,000 people have so far been sent to Lebanon by ShelterBox.
Local Rotary clubs have already distributed many of the tents to families left homeless by the conflict and, tomorrow, Lebanese Rotarians will be distributing 200 ShelterBoxes to the village of Kana in southern Lebanon. Mark said the extent of the damage is hard to take in. He said: "It looks like an earthquake has battered the place."
Many people who have lost their homes cannot start any rebuilding because unexploded bombs still litter the area and they are waiting for bomb disposal teams to clear the wreckage.
31st August 2006 Ecuador:
Tents on TV
Local TV stations in Ecuador have been reporting on how ShelterBox tents are being used to help victims of a series of volcanic eruptions. The original appeal for help came from Gonzalo Rueda from the Rotary Club of Quito Valle Interoceanico. Now, Gonzalo reports: "During the TV news, all the channels show the ShelterBox tents, all over the region where Civil Defence has moved the people who lost their houses.
"I am proud because the Rotary logo in conjunction with ShelterBox and the England flag is watched by thousands of people many times in the day and night."
Many small villages and towns have been destroyed or made uninhabitable because of flows of lava and rubble, and falls of ash, with the former inhabitants now using ShelterBox tents as emergency shelter. Gonzalo adds: "ShelterBox generosity has contributed a lot to help the victims."
14th August 2006
Third consignment for Lebanon
LEBANON: The third consignment of ShelterBox aid for the Lebanon leaves today, with 200 boxes being dispatched via Cyprus. This will follow the two previous consigments to reach Beirut, the second of which arrived over the weekend, courtesy of the Greek warship Xios. The aid was handed over to members of the Rotary Club of Batroun, who are helping to look after around 12,000 people who have left their homes in the war-torn south of the country.
11th August 2006 LEBANON: Despite being held up by bombs, a convoy of local Rotarians reached Beirut yesterday and picked up the first consignment of ShelterBox tents sent to Lebanon. Now, the tents – providing shelter for 2,000-plus – are being set up in the northern city of Batroun, where around 12,000 people have fled to escape the fighting. Another 200 ShelterBoxes – each containing a 10 person tent and other emergency supplies – are today being loaded, with the help of the Cypriot Army, onto an aid ship headed for Beirut. A further 200 boxes are now being packed by ShelterBox and will be dispatched as soon as possible.
11th August 2006 JAVA: Following our second deployment to Java in two months, our response team has now completed its work on the Indonesian island. The team worked with local Rotary and Rotaract clubs to distribute the 200 ShelterBoxes sent out in response to the recent tsunami.
9th August 2006 CYPRUS:
The first consignment of ShelterBox aid for Lebanon is being loaded onto a UN ship this afternoon, ready to go to Beirut.The tents and blankets – enough for 2,000 people – will be handed over to Rotary club contacts in Beirut, who will organise their distribution. Some of those who have managed to escape the fighting in the south have reached Batroun, an ancient city 53km north of Beirut. Until the current conflict, Batroun had a reputation as a major beach resort with a lively nightlife. Now, however, the Rotary Club of Batroun is helping to look after around 12,000 people who have lost their homes. A second consignment of 200 ShelterBoxes is due to reach Cyprus tonight and should also soon be on its way to Beirut. (A previous build-up of refugees on Cyprus has eased, while the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon continues to worsen.)
1st August 2006 LEBANON: The first consignment of ShelterBox aid for the thousands of Lebanese who have fled their homes leaves today. An initial consignment of enough tents and blankets for 2000-plus people is being flown to Cyprus, for onward distribution to Lebanon. More aid is expected to follow, both for those displaced within Lebanon and for the estimated 25,000-plus refugees who have fled the country and are now stranded in Cyprus.
ShelterBox will be working through Rotary clubs on Cyprus and in Beirut to get the aid to victims of the conflict. Scott Givhan from the Rotary Club of Limassol-Berengaria Cosmpolitan is in touch with his counterparts in Lebanon. He said: "The larger organisations are doing a good job getting aid to the main refugee points but Rotary, in conjunction with local governments, remains the only source of support for many people.
"There were 10,000 refugees in the region of Batroun in the north before the recent ceasefire and this number is sure to grow. In addition, one Rotary club in the hills above Beirut has just informed us that they are looking after 6,000 refugees with no support."
Mr Givhan added that Lebanese Rotarians are currently risking their lives to distribute emergency supplies – using their own cars rather than trucks or vans so as to lower the risk of being targeted by Israeli airstrikes.
25th July 2006 SOMALIA: Following a request from UNICEF for further help in Somalia, a new consignment of 200 boxes is being prepared for deployment. ShelterBox are currently one of a very few agencies sending aid to the country, where 15 years of civil war has left 400,000 displaced people living in squalid camps in the south of the country and around the capital Mogadishu.
24th July 2006 JAVA TSUNAMI: A ShelterBox disaster relief team is now on route to Java. A consignment of 200 boxes has already been despatched to the Indonesian island, following the tsunami that hit on Monday 17th. The boxes are due to arrive at Jakarta tomorrow. The ShelterBox volunteers will work with the Rotary Club of Java to distribute the aid to people left homeless after a two-metre high wave hit the coast of Java – which was still recovering from a severe earthquake at the end of May. Monday’s tsunami was triggered by an undersea earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale that had its epicentre just over 100 miles offshore.
Click to read the British ambassador's comments on Shelterbox
16th. June 2006 JAVA
Our 4R teams have now successfully managed to provide living accommodation for over 12,000 people in Shelterbox tents within the earthquake affected regions of Java. More boxes are now being packed ready for dispatch to the area as there are many families who are still in desperate need of help.
30 May 2006
Following the devastating Java earthquake on Saturday 27th May 2006 - 400 Tents in 200 Shelterboxes were despatched from Helston base by road / airfreight on the 29th May 2006 their ETA in earthquake affected area YOGYAKARTA / JAVA is scheduled for Friday 2nd June. A further 400 tents in 200 Shelterboxes are being despatched 31st May for delivery on Saturday 3rd June 2006.
It is anticipated that many more 100s of boxes will be called for and despatched as over 250,000 people have been made homeless and are in need of shelter. A Shelterbox "4R Team" arrived in the earthquake are on Tuesday 30th to assist in receipt and distribution of boxes and material to the people displaced and made homeless by the earthquake.
Above and below: Women trying to salvage some belongings from the ruins of their homes. Shelterbox tents errected on a small clearing on their house foundations among the rubble.
Above: Children wait for their Shelterbox Tent to be errected on the site where the family home stood. |
...who was also in a ShelterBox team that distributed aid around the Kashmiri town of Bagh in November 2005. He said: "ShelterBox got aid to 130,000 people following the earthquake but, because of the scale of the disaster, we were unable to provide aid for everyone and with another winter coming on there are families out there who still need our help now."
The other members of the team include ShelterBox photographer Mark Pearson, who lives in Wadebridge, Simon Zeal from Padstow and Jonathan Cooksley from Wadebridge.
Now, Pakistan’s National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) has turned to ShelterBox for more help and asked for 2,000 boxes.
ShelterBox founder and general manager Tom Henderson said: "We’ve now got 400 boxes on their way to Kashmir, each containing two 10-man tents and we’re going to be sending one of our SRTs to Pakistan. Our volunteers will work with the NRSP and oversee the deployment, ensuring our aid gets to the people who need it most.
"That will provide accommodation for 8,000 but without extra funds we’re not going to be able to help on the scale we’d like to. Sadly, we’re having to prioritise demands, as we’ve also got aid on its way to Africa, where we’re working with both UNICEF and UNHCR to help some of the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by conflicts in Sudan and Somalia."
He added: "Today, though, the most pressing need is to help those desperate folk in Kashmir."
Recent pictures from Somalia
26th Sept. 2006
More boxes for Danube flood victims
Romania: A further 24 ShelterBoxes leave by road tomorrow for Budapest as part of continuing help for flooding victims in the area around the River Danube. ShelterBox previously sent 40 boxes to the area in May and is working alongside the charities Hope & Aid Direct and World Vision. Severe flooding continues to affect the Danube region, where large numbers of homes have been destroyed and many villages left near uninhabitable.
5th. Sept. 2006: Lebanon from
Response Team member Mark Pearson
Here are some pictures (left) from today's distribution of Shelterboxes in Nabatieh al Fawka. The area has been heavily bombed and evidence of landmines are around also. The Lebanese Red Cross are distributing in the area due to security as they are the most respected people in the south of Lebanon. The Lebanese Red Cross contact is Ali Bacharouch who said "we have never seen this equipment in Lebanon it is great, the people love it and this is the only shelter we have had"
First ShelterBox pictures from Lebanon.
25th.August 2006. - Next shipment for Africa
Somalia: The next consignment of aid sent as part of our One Million In Africa project left ShelterBox this morning. A shipping container loaded with 214 ShelterBoxes is now on the first leg of its journey from Cornwall to Somalia. The consignment – which also included 10 ‘classrooms in a box’, 214 water carriers and 280 blankets – will be shipped to Mombasa in Kenya. The container is expected to reach Kenya in around four weeks’ time. The aid will then be handed over to UNICEF who will take it on to Mogadishu in Somalia and oversee its distribution to camps set up for people displaced by 15 years of civil war.
14th August 2006
First South American deployment
ECUADOR: The success of ShelterBox’s first deployment to South America has led to strong links being established with both Ecuador’s National Civil Defence (NCD) agency and local Rotary clubs.
The NCD is in charge of operations to assist thousands of villagers forced from their homes by the eruption of the Tungurahua volcano, which has been sending pyroclastic flows of ash and rubble down over a wide area of farmland.
Following a request from the Rotary Club of Quito Valle Interoceanico, 100 boxes were sent to Ecuador accompanied by a two-person team from ShelterBox. With help of the NCD, the tents have now been set up at various sites located a safe distance from the volcano.
31st July 2006 SOMALIA: The first pictures of a baby born in a ShelterBox tent have been sent back from Somalia by photographer Mark Pearson.
The little girl, Iqran Ali Mohammed, was born after her mother, Amina, sought refuge in a UNICEF camp set up to help some of the thousands of Somalis forced from their homes by 15 years of civil war and a severe drought.
Amina is just one of 5,000 people so far housed in Somalia by ShelterBox, which is working with UNICEF to provide emergency accommodation for the displaced – many of them women and children.
Thousands Somalis have been forced to live in makeshift shelters built from sticks and scraps of whatever material is to hand. The tents and other survival essentials provided by ShelterBox represent a vast improvement in living conditions for those in the camps.
Amina said: "The ShelterBox equipment has given me things to cook with, shelter from the rain, wind and cold and I gave birth to Iqran in my tent two weeks ago."
31st July 2006 ECUADOR: The 100 boxes sent in response to the eruption of the Tungurahua volcano are due to arrive on Sunday 6th August, along with a two-person disaster relief team.
The request for help came through Gonzalo Rueda of The Rotary Club of Quito Valle Interoceanico, who said the eruption was causing serious problems for many poor people in the Ambato and Riobamba sector.
He said: "Thousands of people have been left without their homes, seed and animals, and now suffer many problems, as a result of the terrible eruption of the volcano Tungurahua, which has not stopped after several days."
This will be ShelterBox’s first deployment in South America.
25th July 2006 SOMALIA: So far, ShelterBox has supplied tents for 5,000 people, which have been distributed by UNICEF to some of the camps. Pictures left and below from the scene at Wata Camp were taken by Mark Pearson for ShelterBox on 24th July
24th July 2006: ECUADOR: ShelterBox has been asked for help following a volcanic eruption in Ecuador. The Tungurahua volcano, about 80 miles (130 km) south of the capital Quito became active in May and recently started to erupt – raining molten rock and ash on villages in the area – forcing an estimated 25,000 people to leave their homes. The request for help has come from The Rotary Club of Quito Valle Interoceanico.
24th July 2006 SOMALIA: A two-man team flies into Somalia today on a fact-finding mission to assess how aid from ShelterBox can best provide further help in the war-wrecked east African country. So far, 500 boxes have been distributed under the auspices of UNICEF in southern Somalia to help some of the huge numbers of people who have been driven from their homes by years of civil war. The boxes were sent out to Somalia in mid-May. Joe Cannon and Mark Pearson from ShelterBox’s disaster relief team will be documenting the effectiveness of the deployment and assessing the best way of getting in further aid.
25th June 2006 JAVA EARTHQUAKE:
As part of ShelterBox’s ongoing effort to assist the people of Java, 200 boxes were delivered to the Salvation Army in Yogyakarta for distribution to those in need. A further 400 boxes have also been sent to Yogyakarta since 16th June and, with the assistance of local Rotary clubs, distributed to those left homeless by the earthquake that struck on 27th May.
More than 100 of these boxes were delivered to assist people displaced by the erupting volcano Mount Marapi, which is about 25 miles north of Yogyakarta. In total, more than 12,000 people have already been housed by ShelterBox following the earthquake.
Above: Shelterbox tents errected on small areas cleared within the area of general devastation.
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