July – September 2006: Indonesia, Ecuador, Somalia, Lebanon, Romania & East Timor
New homes for displaced Timorese
28th September - 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 were 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.”
More boxes for Danube flood victims
26th September - 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.
Nationwide schools project launched
15th September - UK: ShelterBox has launched its first national schools project – designed to encourage children across the UK to find out more about how hurricanes, tsunamis and other disasters happen. Education packs have been sent to 20,000 primary schools in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, containing information about the work of the charity – including a short DVD.
An interactive website – www.shelterboxschools.org – has been set up to help teach young pupils understand how disasters affect people around the globe. The site also features teachers’ pages, including a forum and resource materials.
ShelterBox founder Tom Henderson said: “Children will hear about disasters in many different ways and often be very aware of what’s going on in the world even if they don’t understand the reasons for what’s happening. It’s obviously a very serious subject but we wanted to broach it in a way that will make sense to children and we’ve designed the project and the website in consultation with primary headteachers and other education professionals.”
As well as providing a valuable learning resource for teachers and pupils alike, the project also aims to encourage schools to support ShelterBox’s Million In Africa project – an initiative to provide shelter for one million displaced people in Africa over the next five years.
Tents on TV
31st August - Ecuador: Local TV stations in Ecuador have been reporting 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.”
Next shipment for Africa
25th August - 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.
Third consignment for Lebanon
14th August - 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.
First South American deployment
14th August - 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.
Bombs don't stop boxes
11th August - 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.
Team returns from Java
11th August - Indonesia: 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.
Aid on way to Lebanon
9th August - 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.)
Baby born in a ShelterBox tent
31st July - 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 of 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."
First South American deployment
31st July - 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.
UNICEF request more help for Somalia
25th July - Somalia: Following a request from UNICEF for further help in Somalia, a new consignment of 200 boxes is being prepared for deployment.
ShelterBox is 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. So far, ShelterBox has supplied tents for 5,000 people, which have been distributed by UNICEF to some of the camps. Pictures from the scene at Wata Camp were taken by Mark Pearson from ShelterBox on 24th July.
Request for help in Ecuador
24th July - 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.
More aid on way to Java
24th July - Indonesia: 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.
Team arrive in Somalia
24th July - 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 from ShelterBox’s disaster relief team and photographer Mark Pearson will be documenting the effectiveness of the deployment and assessing the best way of getting in further aid.
Java now hit by tsunami
18th July - Indonesia: An initial consignment of 200 boxes is being prepared for immediate despatch to Java following yesterday’s tsunami.
An estimated 52,700 people have been left homeless and more than 340 are dead after a two-metre high wave hit the Indonesian island – 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.
Somalia fact-finding mission
18 July - Somalia: A ShelterBox team will be leaving the UK on Thursday 20th July for a fact-finding mission in Southern Somalia, where 500 boxes have been distributed under the auspices of UNICEF.
The boxes were sent out to Somalia in mid-May. Joe Cannon and Mark Pearson from ShelterBox will be documenting the effectiveness of the deployment and assessing the need for further assistance.
ShelterBox makes UK ambassador proud
7th July - Indonesia: ShelterBox’s work in Java has been praised by the UK’s ambassador to Indonesia. Following a visit to the affected area, Charles Humfrey said: “One of the worst hit villages is Bawuran. Every house there has either collapsed or is severely damaged.
“In the centre of the devastation I suddenly came across numbers of tents with little Union Jacks on them and the Rotary symbol of Helston-Lizard club. These tents are obviously invaluable. They were pitched in the ruins of individual houses and are now serving as much needed temporary homes for the families of those houses.”
Mr Humfrey added: “It is likely to be months at least before the houses can be rebuilt and your tents are the best individual tent accommodation that I saw during my tour around the affected villages. As British Ambassador here it made me proud to see the tents with their Union Jacks representing help from people in the UK.”
Boxes delivered to Java quake victims
25th June - Indonesia:
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.
