January - April 2008: Somaliland displaced, Kenyan conflicts...
January 22nd - Nukuru Stadium, Kenya: International Scouts are thanked for all their hard work from everyone at ShelterBox. A further 200 boxes are arriving today to assist with the new camp being established by Response Team members Mike Greenslade & Ray Filbey from Truro, Cornwall, UK. Amongst this next consignment are 'thank-you back-packs' for the Scouts similar to the kit packs our own SRT's rely on for survival in a disaster situation.
ShelterBox tent is the first home for Kenyan baby 'Favour'
Two day old Baby 'Favour' described by her parents as a favour from God
January 18th - Rift Valley, Kenya: In the history of ShelterBox only one other baby has been born in a tent during an 'Immediate Relief deployment'. It has been a proud moment not only for the SRT's but everyone at HQ. Mark Pearson describes the situation "Mother Louise Kimani Father Paul Kimani and two day old baby Favour were forcibly removed from the village of Kericho seven days ago and until we gave her shelter they were living rough in the stadium. She gave birth on Tuesday the same day she moved into our ShelterBox tent. She is a School teacher and her husband is a farmer they have two other children." Louise Kamani said "we have no where to go but here and it is dangerous in the town and there is nothing left everything was burnt down including the primary school and secondary school"
Mother Louise Kimani & two day old Favour 18th Jan 08
Kenya, A miracle is born during the conflict
January 17th - Rift Valley, Kenya: ShelterBox has set up a well organised and peaceful camp in Nukuru, Rift Valley, amidst Kenya’s national protest. Vulnerable women and children are now safely under shelter in a showground tightly packed with ShelterBox tents. The first response team Mark Pearson & Greg Rogers put up an impressive 200 tents in 48 hours with the help from the Scouts. People are living together and in the past two days numbers have swelled from 2500 to 4000. More displaced families are expected over the next few days, all are Kikuyu tribe members from Eldoret, Kitale, Kisumu and Burnt Forest.
Invaluable support from the Scouts and Rotary
In this violent and man-made situation there is still a need for aid as the victims are the innocent. Until ShelterBox arrived the women were exposed and exhausted sitting up all night to watch over their sleeping children. One women’s house was burnt to the ground, she travelled alone and frightened to the camp and miraculously gave birth to a healthy baby inside a Shelterbox tent put up minutes before. The camp is said to be secure, with some medical facilities and an adequate supply of food. The skilled Scouts have created a well managed situation that Baden Powell himself would have been proud of with communal cooking and ordered camp rules.
Women and children arriving at the show ground, Nukuru
The ShelterBox SRT team have investigated and identified other areas that need help. 40 km North West of Nakuru in Molo 15,000 displaced people are living under the stars in terrible conditions with up to 2000 each sharing one sanitary facility. The rise in illness such as respiratory infections due to exposure is mounting hourly. Shelterbox has responded by sending another 200 boxes of aid which will reach these families by the weekend.
Somaliland, A Million in Africa aid continues
January 11th - Somaliland: News from the ShelterBox team in Hargeisa confirms that 224 boxes have successfully been distributed to the local community. 70 families from Djibouti and 360 families from Ethiopia will benefit from this equipment - all are said to be pleased. The team were also able to deliver blankets to hospitals in Berbera, Burco and Boroma.
January 10th - Kenya: An estimated 250,000 have been displaced, the crisis has taken many by surprise. ShelterBox will send Mark Pearson, photographer & camera, to the Rift Valley to meet with Rotary to distribute an initial supply of 224 boxes of vital aid, an in-field assessment will be made and fed back to HQ.
The election eruption has fueled a humanitarian crisis now the uprooted Kenyans will face an unsettling and potentially long period as refugees. The hope is that the people have the skills to rebuild their homes but assistance is desperately needed. Violence in Kenya will disrupt emergency aid getting through but ShelterBox continues to act irrespective of race, religion, politics and already has 224 boxes on the ground.
January 9th - SRT's: In the last week ShelterBox has sent teams to Somaliland & Bangladesh and are now planning to send an advance team to Nairobi, Kenya.
New Year aid is on the way to Bangladesh
January 8th - Bangladesh: Donations over the Christmas period have allowed a further 200 boxes to be sent to the worst affected areas of Bangladesh.
