ShelterBox Canada

Haiti - Three Months On

2010-04-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

Three months on from one of the worst disasters ever witnessed, over 100,000 Haitian earthquake survivors are rebuilding their lives in ShelterBox tents.

The international disaster relief charity has now delivered over 13,000 ShelterBoxes to families who lost everything in the 7.3-magnitude quake, with each box containing a disaster relief tent to house a family of up to 10 and other items essential for survival.

As the world marks the three-month anniversary of the disaster that struck on January 12, ShelterBox is sending another 5,000 boxes of aid this month – enough for a further 50,000 people – with thousands more ShelterBoxes due to arrive in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, during the coming months.

Tom Henderson, ShelterBox Founder and CEO, said: ‘We were one of the first agencies on the ground in Port au Prince when the earthquake struck, and thanks to the sheer grit and determination of all our volunteers and supporters, we have now distributed aid to over 100,000 Haitians most in need.

‘With tens of thousands of families still living without adequate shelter in heavy rains and the hurricane season soon approaching, the need for emergency shelter is still great and we won’t rest until this need is met.’

ShelterBox began its response to the Haiti earthquake just 12 minutes after the quake struck at 2150GMT on January 12, mobilising a ShelterBox Response Team to Port au Prince. The next day, the first ShelterBoxes left the charity’s HQ bound for Haiti.

The first boxes arrived five days after the earthquake, despite the tremendous logistical difficulties and were used to set up emergency field hospitals, immediately saving lives by providing vital shelter to patients who had nowhere to go. Hundreds more boxes followed and ShelterBox camps were set up in suburbs of Port au Prince including Delmas, where families with newborn babies and pregnant women were prioritised for emergency shelter.

A total of 13,000 ShelterBoxes have now been distributed in Haiti with thousands more to come, making it ShelterBox’s largest deployment since the Indian Ocean Tsunami. All aid has been delivered by volunteer ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) members from across the globe, including two from Canada, who have carried out extensive training with ShelterBox. More than 30 SRT members have now been deployed in Haiti as well as Santo Domingo and Miami coordinating logistics for Haitian aid.

Partnerships forged with organisations on the ground in Haiti such as French aid agency ACTED, the French Red Cross, the IOM, local Rotarians, the Dutch military and the US military allowed SRT members to distribute boxes effectively and securely, ensuring aid has been delivered to people most in need. Across the globe, people have been supporting ShelterBox on unprecedented levels and volunteers at ShelterBox HQ have been packing more boxes, in the shortest space of time, than they ever had before.

ShelterBox Founder and CEO Tom Henderson said: ‘In March, it was a great personal privilege to travel to Haiti and see firsthand the amazing work our teams are doing there.

‘None of this could happen without our friends and supporters. Since the earthquake struck we have witnessed acts of generosity, kindness and compassion on a daily basis. My heartfelt thanks go out to all our supporters for everything they are doing for ShelterBox.’

Fiji Receives ShelterBoxes After Cyclone

2010-04-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

Up to 200 people hit by Cyclone Tomas in Fiji have been given emergency shelter by disaster relief charity ShelterBox.

The category four storm battered the Vanua Levu and Lau Group islands last month, destroying homes and crops and prompting authorities to declare a state of emergency.

Two ShelterBox Response Team members, Lyndon Tamblyn (NZ) and Walter van der Kley (NZ), have distributed 20 boxes of aid containing ten-person disaster relief tents and life-saving supplies to the Undu area in Vanua Levu’s north.

The team received transportation and logistical assistance from Rotary clubs and government authorities both in Fiji and New Zealand.

'Large damage'

Lyndon said: 'This was a very slow moving cyclone and battered areas for up to 48 hours with winds of 150 to 220km per hour. It created a major disaster on a big land and sea area covering many regions, some of which were a day’s travel by boat and with no working aircraft landing zones for aircraft.

‘Many homes have been destroyed by Cyclone Tomas winds and the ensuing tidal surge. Because of no road access to remote villages, we had to use a mixture of transportation means by road and by boat.

'There was large damage to telecommunications, roads, electricity supply, water supply and to food crops. The 20 ShelterBoxes we distributed were well received by those who had lost their homes in the disaster.’

Walter said: 'This was a successful deployment with the help much appreciated. The ShelterBoxes we distributed by boat were in very isolated areas and we couldn't have done it without expert local boatmen and Government logistical support.'

Report From Chile

2010-04-06T10:45:00.001-07:00

ShelterBox is getting aid to hardest to reach areas in Chile. ShelterBox Response Teams (SRT) in earthquake-hit Chile have been delivering emergency shelter to remote communities across a huge geographical area. The 8.8-magnitude quake that struck the South American country a month ago caused widespread destruction in dozens of towns and villages and triggered a tsunami which ravaged a large section of the Chilean coast.

An SRT has been delivering disaster relief tents and life-saving supplies for up to 10,000 people in four different regions of southern Chile. The massive area stretches from Iloca, north of the worst-affected city Concepcion, to Lebu on the coast, and measures an estimated 40,000 square kilometers – roughly the size of the Netherlands.

Jessica Stanton, ShelterBox Operations Coordinator and Team Leader in Chile, said: ‘This deployment has been by far the most complex I’ve experienced. The effects of the disaster are split across such an enormous area. It was one of the biggest earthquakes ever with some communities hit by the earthquake and others by the subsequent tsunami. Every town we are going to is in a critical state but we have to ensure the 1,000 tents we have on the ground go to those most in need.

‘Yesterday we gave a box to a large family where the mother was just three days away from giving birth and her six-month-old baby had bronchitis. They had been living in a greenhouse with no proper floor and because it’s so hot and dusty it was making the baby’s condition worse. They were very emotional when they received the ShelterBox and everybody just burst out crying.’
The team has been working with the NGO, Un Techo Para Chile, consignee Adelphos, logistics firm Goodyear and Rotary clubs, Scouts and fire services to ensure aid is distributed. A fifth ShelterBox Response Team member has been based in Santiago assisting with customs and logistics. ShelterBoxes have so far been given out to people who have lost their homes in Retiro, Parral, Cauquenes, Chanco and Copihue. Along the coast, Talcahuano, Lebu and Coronle have also received ShelterBox aid.

A spokesperson said: ‘ShelterBox has been working in some of the hardest to reach places in rural Chile near the epicentre of the earthquake. We are the first organisation to be operating around some of the towns and villages. The small town of Retiro was one of the worst affected places and a huge distance away from any major routes. We have been working with the Retiro scouts and Retiro fire brigade to work in areas that have not received aid.’

Aid recipient Sara Norambvena ,70, said: ‘I never thought I would lose my house. Thanks to ShelterBox I have a place now to spend the winter that is coming. I have seven grandchildren that I look after and now having these two tents means we will be safe. ShelterBox is the first aid we have seen since the earthquake. We are so happy we have not been forgotten.’

Jessica added: ‘Down on the coast, such as in Talcahuano, we delivered boxes to families who had been living under plastic sheeting in really cramped conditions. The rains are due imminently and once they start, the whole situation will become a million times worse. In more urban areas such as Parral, there is a lot less space and with all the buildings made of mud and sand, the earthquake turned the whole town into rubble. In the old mining town of Coronle, houses built on top of mining tunnels which have collapsed have caused the houses to slip downhill. And in the fishing town of Lebu, people have not only lost their homes but also their livelihoods.

'The Chilean people are unbelievably resilient and are really pulling together.’

Must-See Video Clip from CNN

2010-03-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2010/01/29/cnnheroes.henderson.salute.cnn?hpt=T2

Pictures From Haiti

2010-03-25T12:11:00.000-07:00

Pictures taken in Haiti by SRT Ron Noseworthy from Canada of a ShelterBox Village and the alternative for many Haitians.

Field Report from Haiti

2010-03-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

"On the early afternoon of Friday March5th, 10 truck loads of NFIs, (non-food items) arrived at our temporary warehouse in Port Au Prince. These large trucks contained thousands of items including: wood stoves, kitchen sets, water carriers, water purification kits and tool kits, basically the contents of a ShelterBox without the tent & box. In order to expedite satisfying the enormous need for tents, ShelterBox has arranged to send 5,000 tents directly to Haiti from the manufacturer in China; consequently the NFIs were sent separately from headquarters in the UK.

These trucks were immediately unloaded and early the next morning, 8 trucks and numerous soldiers from the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division arrived at the warehouse to begin reloading and transferring the supplies to the staging area at their base. This was completed by early Saturday evening. Sunday morning trucks were reloaded in smaller quantities and, accompanied by 4 of our ShelterBox Response Team members, distribution to the surviving earthquake victims began. There were many return trips to the 82nd's base to reload, this processed continued throughout the day and into the following one. By the end of the day on Monday, all the NFI's had been distributed to the Haitians.

This was a remarkable achievement. In excess of 14,000 non-food items, which were in our warehouse for less than 24 hours, had been totally distributed in two days to many thousands of desperate Haitians. This could not have been achieved without the tremendous assistance from the 82nd Airborne and our great appreciation is extended to them. Almost two months after the earthquake, the need in this country remains staggering. There are tens of thousands of people without shelter and the basic essentials of life as the rainy season approaches. To our many supporters, be assured that ShelterBox will continue with our presence here for as long as the need remains and as long as we have the resources to help these suffering people.

SRT Rotarian Ron Noseworthy, Kenora, Ontario
Footnote: We are glad to report Ron has now returned safely from Haiti.

Help for Landslide Victims in Uganda

2010-03-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

A ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) is working in Uganda in response to deadly landslides which struck the country at the start of March.

They arrived in Uganda at the weekend and are now assessing the worst affected areas. They are based in Mbale, in Uganda’s east, the closest city to the Bududa region which was hit by the landslides.

On Monday, March 1 torrential rains in the areas surrounding Mt Elgon caused flooding and deadly landslides. A camp has been set up in Bulucheke for close to 3,000 people although it is feared this number could rise to 5,000. Of the 3,000 people in the camp, close to 1,300 are children.

Speaking from the camp, one SRT said: ‘There are a lot of different organizations on the ground and we’ll be working closely with them in the coming days. Large tents are currently housing 100 people at a time in very cramped conditions and families are being split up.

‘Tomorrow we’re trekking into the mountains where we think there’ll be a big need for ShelterBoxes.’

‘The landslides came down from Mt Elgon and cleared out an entire valley, destroying three schools in the process."

Aid on the Way for Small Chilean Communities

2010-03-12T08:42:00.000-08:00

ShelterBox is distributing disaster relief tents and life-saving supplies for up to 10,000 earthquake survivors in Chile.

Around 1,000 ShelterBoxes are arriving in the capital Santiago this weekend where they will be met by two ShelterBox Response Teams (SRT) and delivered to those who lost their homes in the devastating 8.8 magnitude quake.

With strong aftershocks still a regular occurrence nearly a fortnight after the disaster, ShelterBox workers on the ground have been assessing areas of greatest need in the Talca region, north of the worst-affected city, Concepcion.

Incoming Team Leader and ShelterBox Operations Coordinator Jessica Stanton said: ‘We’ll be arriving at the same time as 1,000 ShelterBoxes arrive so we’ll have our work cut out distributing the tents and supplies.

‘The Chilean government and other agencies have been providing emergency shelter in Concepcion, the city closest to the quake’s epicentre, and to areas along the coast which were hit by a tsunami.

‘But we’re hearing reports that more inland, rural communities near Talca are not getting any support despite people’s homes being destroyed by the earthquake. We’re looking to put tents up close to people’s homesteads so they can stay where they are under cover while starting to rebuild their lives and homes.’

The 1,000 ShelterBoxes – providing enough aid for up to 10,000 people - have come from prepositioned stock in Melbourne, Singapore and Dubai as well as from ShelterBox HQ in the UK. ShelterBox has a network of strategic locations around the globe where boxes are stored to allow a speedy response to disasters wherever they strike.

On arrival in Santiago the boxes will be transported by road to Talca with help from shipping company DHL. SRT member Tom Lay said: ‘There is massive damage in the region of Talca and a lot of buildings are just gone. We’ve identified rural communities in the towns of Curepto, Villa Prat and Curico which were hit by the quake and suffered devastation, but are at the bottom of the list in terms of getting aid, so we’re making sure these communities get emergency shelter as quickly as possible.

‘The aftershocks we’ve felt have been really strong and we had to evacuate the building we were in. We can’t wait for the boxes to arrive and as soon as they do we’ll be distributing them.’

News From a Canadian SRT in Haiti

2010-03-10T13:10:00.000-08:00

Ron Noseworthy is the team leader in Haiti. He is from Kenora, Ontario.

"I have been on 4 previous deployments and none compare with the massive destruction of this one.

A little over 7 weeks after the earthquake & the need in this country is staggering. There are huge makeshift tent camps all over the city of Port au Prince, made of cloth, cardboard and any flimsy material available and with the rainy season approaching, it is frightening. We get continuous heart wrenching requests for help. On the positive side, we have over 8000 tents out.
Tom Henderson, the founder of ShelterBox, just spent 5 days with us and indicated, that he hopes we can put up to 20,000 tents into the city. This still pales compared to the statistic of over 100,000 families without homes.

I know that many of you have supported ShelterBox & I just wish you could see the hope that these tents & supplies that you have paid for, bring to desparate people. I accompanied a helicopter ride into the mountains today where we distributed 164 boxes. The expressions of relief on the faces of the recipients was palpable.

In these incredible disasters there are many heart warming stories. We have a wonderful driver of our van, Philippe, who has done everything for us including protecting our personal security. Tonight we learned that he is a lawyer, with no work in his profession because of the earthquake.

I am fine, we have a good handle on the security situation. It has been a bit daunting leading a team of 7 and dealing with boxes numbered in the thousands, rather than the usual hundreds, but my team had been great and very supportive."

Update on Chile

2010-03-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

A three-person ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) has arrived in Chile. They had to travel through Argentina and across the Andes in order to reach Chile’s capital Santiago and are now pulling out all the stops to establish where ShelterBoxes are most needed.

The team has met with Rotary contacts and government officials in Santiago. They will be travelling south to Concepcion and the worst affected areas tomorrow (Friday, March 5). Concepcion is Chile’s second largest city and was nearest to the quake’s epicentre.

From all the reports there’s an absolute crying need for shelter in Concepcion and areas along the coast which have been largely overlooked. The team’s contacts in Chile told them that the Iloca region, on Chile’s coast, was hit by a tsunami after the earthquake. The tsunami reached three miles inland in some areas causing widespread damage and destruction. The SRT will be visiting the area as soon as they travel south towards Concepcion, a twelve hour drive from Santiago.

ShelterBox Work Goes On Around the World

2010-03-03T10:47:00.000-08:00

The ShelterBox Response Team in Peru was on the scene immediately after a landslide struck the village of Taray leaving hundreds of families homeless.

The team has been distributing ShelterBoxes to people affected by flooding in the Cuzco and Puno regions. They have been working to the north of Cuzco in the Scared Valley when they heard the news of the landslide in Taray.

One of the team, who is on her first deployment, said: ‘There’s been so much rain here and it’s been falling really hard. There are so many houses which aren’t safe. We heard about the landslide in Taray and immediately set about trying to get there.

‘The road was blocked so we had to leave our vehicle, climb across rocks and travel the rest of the way with the army of Cuzco. It was a heck of a journey.

‘When we reached the village we learnt that eight people had died and 120 families had lost their homes. We were the first aid agency there and today (Wednesday, March 3) we’ve been setting up tents and delivering ShelterBoxes to all of them.’

Boxes have also been distributed in Real Naciente, Paucarbumba, Lucra and other areas. In Lucra, she met a 90 year old man who had lost his home and his wife in the flooding.

She said: ‘In the past few days we’ve been assessing a number of villages. There are places where people have been making their own tents which can’t stand up to the rains. The look in their eyes is soul destroying.

‘But now we have people in ShelterBox tents where they’re going to stay until they can rebuild their homes. This is my first deployment and it’s been challenging in so many ways but we’re now seeing the hope that ShelterBox brings to people come to life.’

200 ShelterBoxes were sent to Peru after the country experienced its heaviest rainfall in two decades. The ShelterBox Response Team has been working with Rotarians, the Peruvian Red Cross and the National Civil Defence Institute.

...And Now Chile

2010-03-01T10:57:00.000-08:00

An initial consignment of 448 ShelterBoxes is being sent to Chile in response to the massive earthquake that hit the country.

ShelterBox is utilising all its global resources to respond as quickly as possible to this latest disaster. ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) members Pat Prendergast (UK), Tom Lay (UK) and Traci Oliver (US) are currently en route to Chile’s capital Santiago. On arrival the team will join up with local Rotarians and the Red Cross to establish where the greatest need for emergency shelter is.

The team will be joined by 448 ShelterBoxes, enough aid for up to 4,480 people. The boxes are being sent from prepositioned stock in Melbourne, Australia. ShelterBox has a network of strategic locations around the globe where boxes are stored to allow a speedy response to any disaster wherever it may strike.

Head of Operations, John Leach, said: ‘The full extent of the damage in Chile is yet to be seen but there’ll undoubtedly be a need for emergency shelter.

‘Our first response team was mobilised as soon as news of the earthquake reached us. We’re now sending ShelterBoxes form Australia and once our team arrive in Santiago they’ll be working closely with Rotarians and other aid organisations to make sure the aid reaches the people who need it most.’

With the earthquake in Chile following so soon after the earthquake Haiti, the need to support ShelterBox could not be greater. General Manager, Lasse Petersen, said: “We’re responding to the massive disasters in both Haiti and Chile as well as other disasters across the world that aren’t making the headlines. Whenever disasters strike they inevitably leave devastated families in their wake, families who lose everything through no fault of their own.”

‘We urgently need donations to fund our disaster relief efforts, to help us respond to the current disasters and to acquire more tents and life saving supplies in readiness for future disasters."

Scouts Help in Haiti

2010-02-24T16:22:00.001-08:00

50 Scouts from the West Department International Scouts d' Haiti work alongside the 82nd Airborne and set up 70 tents in four hours for the displaced earthquake survivors in the Palace East, central Port Au Prince

Tents Erected in Jacmel

2010-02-23T13:02:00.001-08:00

A Haitian woman cooking outside her tent in Jacmel where two hundred and fifty ShelterBox tents have been erected.

Latest Video from Haiti

2010-02-17T10:28:00.000-08:00

The latest video from Haiti featuring the head of ShelterBox France, John Diksa, who is also an SRT, is now on YouTube. It gives some idea of the complicated logistics of establishing a ShelterBox "village". We are not simply throwing tents up and wishing them well; we take care to ensure a viable and workable community has been established.
Here’s the link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GtGcr9OLAU

2010-02-12T13:31:00.000-08:00

ShelterBox tents have been used to set up Congress Camp to house thousands of Haitians after a 7.2 earthquake devastated the country. Saturday, 2nd, February 2010 (Picture By Mark Pearson)

Excellent Video from Haiti

2010-02-10T10:18:00.000-08:00

If you need to know what we are doing in Haiti and how much it is appreciated - click on this link or copy and paste it into your browser:

http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,64921944001_1960407,00.html

Tells you what we are all about. While the government's "matching" deadline is this Friday Feb 12, our efforts must continue and the fundraising will go on.

We have never had such enormous response as this. In Canada will be at 3000 boxes by next week and still support is coming in. This will mean more boxes into Haiti from Canada.

However after the 12th we cannot guarantee that a donation will indeed end up in Haiti. We will ship to them as long as aid is available and needed but there are other disasters happening and reserves to be rebuilt. Rest assured that the donations will still be utilized to save lives and assist in disaster relief.

We just moved 200 boxes from our prepositioned container into Egypt yesterday due to disastrous floods that wiped out an area. None of these were Canadian so all of our donations are still going to Haiti.

Keep up the great work and thanks to all of you for above and beyond service to your fellow human beings.

7000 ShelterBoxes to Haiti

2010-02-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

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 village 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.’

In another camp 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.’

ShelterBox has also worked with the women’s charity V-Day in providing 40 ShelterBoxes to vulnerable women in Port au Prince. In addition, 50 ShelterBoxes have been given to the French association, Enfants de la Rue, to help house children caught up in the quake.

Meanwhile the aid operation continues. Another 1,800 ShelterBoxes are set to be flown from Stansted Airport to Santa Domingo, the Dominican Republic, on Friday,February 5th where they will be transported overland to Port au Prince. It will bring the total number of ShelterBoxes deployed in Haiti to more than 7,000 boxes, providing emergency shelter to more than 70,000 people.

ShelterBox Founder and CEO, Tom Henderson, added: ‘None of this would have been possible without the fantastic fundraising efforts from ShelterBox supporters around the world. The need is huge but the response is matching it. By the sheer grit and determination of our staff, volunteers and donors we’ve been able to respond in record time, preparing more ShelterBoxes in two weeks than we’ve ever done before. We’re in this for the long haul and I know our supporters will keep on going, keep on fundraising and keep on helping us make a difference.’

Canadian Boxes to Haiti -Just the Beginning!

2010-01-31T12:50:00.000-08:00

Here are some box numbers and donors that have gone to Haiti already. If you are not on the list yet bear with us - paperwork is taking longer than usual in these unusual circumstances. Lots of volunteers are helping out and we are trying our best to catch up with the administrivia.

Rotary Club of Niagara Falls, 1807/08/09
Rotary Club of Saskatoon Nutana, 1810/11
MacGillivray Family, 1812
Margot Harrison, 1813/14/15/16
Rotary Club of West Ottawa, 1817/18/19/20
Rotary Club of Kentville, 1821/22/23/24
Rotary Club of Calgary Millennium, 1825/26/27/28
Rotary Club of Kelowna Ogopogo, 1829/30/31/32
Rotary Club of Kenora, 1833/34/35/36
Rotary Club of Victoria Harbourside, 1837/38/39/40/41/42
Rotary Club of Toronto Foundation, 1843/44/45/46/47/48/49/50
Rotary Club of Quesnel Sunrise 2000, 1852
Rotary Club of Yarmouth, 1853
James & Alison Leamy, 1854
Victoria Grabb, 1855
Rick Offord - Century 21 Offord Realty, 1856
Don Bumstead, 1857
Rotary Club of Wiarton, 1858
Downes Family, 1859
Rotary Club of Peterborough Kawartha, 1860
Donna and Henry Neufeld, 1861
Rotary Club of Spruce Grove, 1862
Interact Club of Cowichan Secondary School & Citizens of Canada, 1863
Rotary Club of Ottawa & Citizens of Canada, 1864
Donald & Lynda Sales, 1865
Lorne & Patricia Larson & citizens of Canada, 1866
Robert & Marion McLaren Family, 1867
Rotary District 5370 & Citizens of Canada, 1868
Rotary Club of Grand Manan, 1869
Glenn & Joan Johnson, 1870
Rotary Club of St. John's East, 1871
Rotary Club of Bowmanville, 1872
Rotary Club of Richmond Sunrise, 1873
Don Luke Family, 1874
Lyle & Norine Miller, 1875
D. Kent Fraser, 1876
Art & Dianne Joyce, 1877
Cathy & Rene Proulx, 1878
Rotary Club of Edmonton Avenue of Nations, 1879
Rotary Club of Simcoe, 1880
Dave & Daisy Lowdon in memory of Claude Thibault, 1881
Wilson & Terry Muir, 1882
Denton Muir & Nicole Porter, 1883
Joan and Ted Bowles family, 1884
Doug Champ, 1885
Robert & Janet Balfour, 1886
Rotary Club of St.Catharines Lakeshore, 1887
Rotary Club of Thompson, 1888
Marianne Muir, 1889
Rotary Club of Cranbrook Sunrise & Citizens of Canada, 1890
Joan Firkins, 1891
Rick & Vi Chappell, 1892
Dr. Ken Muth (Rotary Club of Nelson), 1893
Rotary Club of Fort St. John Sunrise , 1894
Sprigge and Harper Families, 1895
Grant Kvemshagen, 1896
Rotary Club of Chatham, 1897
Herbert & Margaret Leroy, 1898
Rotary Club of Edson, 1899
Rotary Club of Cornwall Sunrise, 1900
Rotary Club of Duncan, 1901
Mr.Raul Marquez (Rotary Club of San Salvador Sur), 1902
John & Judy Taylor, 1903
Malcolm Davies, 1904
Susan Ross, 1905
Laurence Begley, 1906
Agrium Clavet Social Club, 1907
Jim & Nancy Campbell & Citizens of Canada, 1908
Robert Malcolm , 1909
Don & Anne Ohlgren , 1910
Percy & Sharon Butler, 1911/1912
Rotary Club of Charlottetown Royalty, 1913/1914
Rotary Club of High River, 1915/1916
Rotary Club of Kingston, 1917/1918
Rotary Club of Meaford, 1919/1920/1921
John & Donna Core/Joseph & Patricia Longo, 1922
John Tarrel/Duncan MacArthur/Felicity O'Caroll, 1923
Audrey Wickham and McIvor Family, 1924
Crossman Family & Gilles Durand, 1925
Norma Brown & Wayne Rodway/Rick & Lynda Anderson/Kim Caine, 1926
Reymer/Perry/Stillaway Families, 1927
Pat and Jean Miskiman and Family , 1928
Rotary Club of Kimberley , 1929
Gil Adams, 1930
Jim,May,Art Dalton & Lorraine Russel, 1931
Beatrice Fulton, 1932
Begley Overhead Doors, 1933
Sonntag Family, 1934
Bill & Rhonda Armstrong, 1935
Bork Family, 1936
Brenda Sorley Family, 1937
Cook Engineering ShelterBox Club, 1938
Crane Steel Structures & Staff, 1939
Darlene Cocks, 1940
David Knutson, 1941
Dianne & Phil Mamchur, 1942
Donna Webb, 1943
Doug & Gwen Milton, 1944
Ean & Jane Gower, 1945
Frederick Bieber, 1946
George & Maria Tietjen, 1947
Honeywood Veterinary Hospital, 1948
In memory of our son Glen (Bruce & Beryl Bays), 1949
Isabell Anderson for James&Judith Anderson&Family, 1950
Jeffrey Rayman, 1951
John & Carol MacLeod & Family, 1952
John & Joyce MacRae, 1953
John Daisley, 1954
Jon & Marguerite Toogood, 1955
Jones/Gunn Families, 1956
June & Frank Shoemaker, 1957
Keith & Joanne Tatton, 1958
Ken Carnes & Family, 1959
Ken Lane, 1960
Kevin Kennedy Family, 1961
Kim & Vince Marcotte, 1962
King Family & Friends, Winnipeg, 1963
Larry Kanters, 1964
Lindsay,Rachel,Kristen,Benjamin Price from Betty Elworthy, 1965
Manufacturing & Technology (Howard Humphrey), 1966
McGregor & Janzen Family, 1967
Midge Behnke, 1968
Mike McKone, 1969
Muriel Essery, 1970
Murray Family, 1971
Natalie Zigarlick, 1972
Rotary Club of Chilliwack Mount Cheam, 1973
Rotary Club of Cumberland Centennial, 1974
Rotary Club of Kamloops West, 1975
Rotary Club of Limestone , 1976
Rotary Club of Montague, 1977
Rotary Club of Montreal Lakeshore, 1978
Rotary Club of Oshawa, 1979
Rotary Club of Parksville, 1980
Rotary Club of Qualicum Beach Sunrise, 1981
Rotary Club of Simcoe, 1982
Rotary Club of St.Catharines AM, 1983
Rotary Club of Washago & Area, 1984
Richard McMullen, 1985
Robert & Adele Smith, 1986
Royal London Wax Museum,Victoria, 1987
Sean Hogan, 1988
Seguin,Curtin, & Wilkinson Families, 1989
St.Anthony's CWL & Hudolin Family of Thunder Bay, 1990
St.Mary High School - Prince Albert, 1991
Susan Knowling (Rotary Club of Minnedosa), 1992
Henry & Telio Families, 1993
Mewis Family, 1994
Tim Koepke, 1995
Tony & Val Wright for family and friends, 1996
Top of Victoria Leads Club , 1997
Vacuum Doctor, 1998
Waldy & Gloria Loewen, 1999
For William Gaskell's 95th Birthday, 2000
Walker Family-Kimberley, 2001
Peter Dicken, 2002
Rotary Club of Pembroke, 2003
Leanne Sargent/John Degroot, 2004
Allan Colborne, 2005/2006
Rotary Club of Abbotsford-Sumas, 2007/2008
Rotary Club of Melfort , 2009/2010
Rotary Club of Thornbury & Clarksburg, 2011/2012
Tami Wetmore, 2013/2014
Rotary Club of Chilliwack, 2015/2016/2017
Rotary Club of Toronto Twilight, 2018/2019/2020
Citizens of Canada, 2021/2022/2023
Rotary Club of Calgary Chinook, 2024/2025/2026/2027
Rotary Club of Coquitlam Sunrise, 2028/2029/2030/2031
Maunders McNeil Foundation, 2032-2046

Very Simple Fundraising Idea

2010-01-29T14:00:00.000-08:00

A man named Robb sent out one email to his contact list, asking them to donate to ShelterBox. His friends subsequently donated $8000 to Shelterbox on the website indicating the name "Robb & Friends" in the message box on the donation page. Now eight families in Haiti will have a home.

This is an idea anyone can do. Direct your friends to http://www.shelterbox.ca/, and watch how generous they can be.

New Urban Village Going Up

2010-01-27T14:10:00.000-08:00

ShelterBox is setting up an urban "village" near the US Embasssy of 1000 tents. The people who move into this camp will thus be able to continue their lives in the city without having to move out to an urban area.

You can see a great video clip of the village at Henfrasa Stadium,Delmas, Port au Prince at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqQpMZUoirA. You will notice it is a far cry from the ramshackle camps you have seen on TV. You can even see children smiling!

The Pictures Speak For Themselves

2010-01-26T14:16:00.000-08:00

Here are the first pictures of a ShelterBox village in Haiti.

These rugged tents will provide adequate shelter when the rainy season arrives in April.

Did You Catch a Glimpse?

2010-01-25T09:22:00.000-08:00

Did you catch a glimpse of a ShelterBox tent in the background in a piece on Canadian Televison?
Watch for it - they do repeat interviews several times!
Nearly 100 tonnes of additional aid is being flown to Haiti this week as thousands of people who lost their homes in the devastating earthquake are being given the chance to start rebuilding their lives in ShelterBox tents.

Emergency shelter for more than 20,000 people is now in Port au Prince and surrounding areas with small camps already set up in Delmas, Petion-Ville, Carrefour and Leogane.

Hundreds more ShelterBoxes containing disaster relief tents and other life-saving supplies are being sent to the city in the next few days from Miami, Curucao and France, meaning another 11,000 people will be given emergency shelter.

On Friday, ShelterBox is chartering a 747 aircraft with 1,800 boxes to fly from Stansted Airport to the Dominican Republic where they will be taken overland to neighbouring Haiti.

It is the second flight chartered by the international disaster relief charity for the Haiti response after a plane loaded with 700 ShelterBoxes and 100 tents flew out of Newquay Cornwall Airport last week. ShelterBox Response Team members Jane Nash (UK) and Gary McCafferty (UK) travelled overland with an aid convoy from Santa Domingo to ensure the ShelterBoxes reached Port au Prince at the weekend.

John Leach, Head of Operations for ShelterBox, said: ‘The need in Haiti is massive. Our team in Port au Prince is working with Dutch marines to ensure the safe and effective delivery of disaster relief tents and hundreds of these are already being used in four different locations.

‘Distribution of aid by our highly-trained ShelterBox Response Team members is underway but the need for emergency shelter is still desperate.’

A number of ShelterBoxes have also been used at an orphanage and at two hospitals in Port au Prince where tents are being erected to help save lives.

Speaking from Bernard Mews Hospital in Freres, a suburb of Port au Prince, ShelterBox Response Team member Wayne Robinson (US) said: ‘Right outside the hospital there have been hundreds of people who have been laying in the sidewalks, on the streets and in blankets right on the ground in unbelievable conditions. They are bleeding, they have missing limbs and there are even women giving birth.

‘We felt this was a good use of the initial boxes that we had here on the ground and we’ll be bringing more here and using them as a transitional point to get people out of the elements while they are waiting for treatment at the hospital. Buildings have crashed down all around us here and people are just waiting and waiting to get in here for medical services.’

Haitians Being "Trained" to Erect Tents Properly

2010-01-23T10:17:00.000-08:00

as of 1400hrs GMT on Saturday 23.01.10

There were 412 boxes on the ground in PAP yesterday. 400 more have since arrived from Miami. Approximately 60 have arrived care of the Dutch Military from Curacao (the remaining 190 from Curacao are due to arrive tomorrow).

Emergency shelter for more than 8,500 people is now in Haiti. Responders are training Haitians to erect the tents properly. Here you can see one of our tents and the alternatives people are dealing with.

200 more boxes, flown courtesy of the French Red Cross are due to arrive in PAP this afternoon local time. 700 boxes and 100 tents will also arrive in PAP today on an aid convoy from Santa Domingo.

By the end of the day local time we will have upwards of 1,800 boxes in PAP. Enough aid for more than 18,000 people.

Approximately 700 boxes remain in Miami that were flown there by Virgin Atlantic. Another 200 should also be in Miami which were flown via Amsterdam.
1,000 boxes currently packed and awaiting dispatch from the UK. More being packed.

Box table of boxes committed so far and the routes they’ve taken since leaving HQ:

Miami 1,700 (1,500 Virgin, 200 via Amsterdam)
France 600
Newquay 802 (702 boxes + 100 tents)
Curacao 256
El Salvador 73
Total 3,431

First Camps Set Up in Haiti

2010-01-22T07:27:00.000-08:00

First camps set up. Tents in use at Bernard Mews hospital and as field hospitals (estimated 50 boxes). Further camps set up in Delmas (50 boxes), Petion-Ville (50 boxes), Carrefour (50 boxes), Leogane (100 boxes).

Congratulations to our team on the ground for this remarkable accomplishment.

Many more boxes are on the way, but logisitics remain difficult with the bottleneck at the airport. In these pictures a young amputee enjoys a ShelterBox kids' kit, and a Haitian woman seems happy to be out of the heat and dust in a ShelterBox tent at the hospital.

Getting to Haiti Any Way We Can

2010-01-21T09:58:00.000-08:00

This is the internal situation report from HQ as of 1000hrs on 21.01.10:

Boxes · More than 400 on the ground in PAP. · Virgin Atlantic flew 1,000 to Miami. 400 have arrived in PAP and 400 due to arrive today. 500 more are in the air with Virgin and expected in Miami. · 767 plus 100 loose tents in the air from Newquay. Due in PAP but could be diverted to Santa Domingo. · 256 from Curacao expected today but could be delayed because of the situation at the airport. · 400 boxes were sent to France last week. 12 have arrived in PAP. 56 are on the way to Martinique and will be flown to PAP with French military. 132 set to leave Vatry, France today. Unclear if direct to PAP or via Martinique. 200 en route to Santa Domingo with French Red Cross. · 1,100 current at HQ awaiting dispatch. More being packed.

Teams · Port au Prince, Haiti: David Eby (US), Wayne Robinson (US), Mark Pearson (UK) and Lasse Petersen (UK). To be joined today by Ian Neal (UK) and John Mackie (US).
· Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic: Forward logistics team Andrew Biss (UK) and Sean Halbert (UK).
· Miami, USA: Mark Dyer (US), John Lacquey (US) and Steve Tonkinson (US). To be joined by Elke Kruger (DE)
· En route: Jane Nash (UK) and Gary McCafferty (UK) flying with boxes from Newquay. Due into PAP but might have to land in Santa Domingo. John Diksa (FR) also en route from France and expected in Santa Domingo

Operations · Team in PAP all ok. First tents are being used as emergency field hospitals as a priority – amputations are happening regularly and people need a secure environment to recover from the trauma of the operation and avoid the risk of infection. There is a desperate need for emergency hospitals. Amputations are expected to spiral into the thousands. Tents are needed for the operations to be performed in but also for initial patient recovery. The elements in Haiti, with heat, rain and dust, as well as the horrendous situation on the ground, mean the risk of infection is huge. With people using our tents to recover in the risk of infection is greatly reduced and the chance of survival is greatly increased. By using a small consignment of tents as emergency hospitals, ShelterBox is saving lives with immediate effect. As ever, are aim is to ensure the people in most need get aid as quickly as possible.
· The team are assessing the best sites for a large scale distribution. Still looking at Leogane, worst affected area, to the SW of PAP.
· Communication with the team is difficult. Urged to keep them to a minimum.
· The plan is to commit more boxes and people into PAP and backfill the forward logistics positions.

Added info · 3 months worth of effort has taken place in a week.
· We’re fully equipped to deal with the current situation.

ShelterBox Tents Become Field Hospital

2010-01-20T09:55:00.000-08:00

ShelterBox tents provide shelter for patients at the field hospital in Haiti.

ShelterBoxes Have arrived in Haiti

2010-01-19T08:48:00.000-08:00

The first ShelterBoxes have arrived in Port au Prince and hundreds more are due to arrive later today.
The ShelterBox Response Team of David Eby (US), Wayne Robinson (US) and Mark Pearson (UK), who have been in Haiti’s capital since Thursday, took delivery of the first ShelterBoxes at Port au Prince airport yesterday.
The team say twelve of these boxes will be used to build an emergency field hospital at the airport.
‘We are helping build a field hospital with these tents at the airport,’ said Mark Pearson. ‘These are desperate conditions, amputations are happening every half hour. There’s an urgent need for tents at hospitals and this is our first priority.’
ShelterBox Head of Operations John Leach said: ‘The safety of our staff in Haiti is of paramount importance.
‘We are working with the agencies on the ground to ensure that ShelterBoxes are not only distributed speedily and efficiently, but that our team on the ground is able to work in a safe environment.’
Hundreds more boxes are due to arrive into Port au Prince later today from Miami on a chartered aircraft. Thousands more ShelterBoxes are being packed and shipped from ShelterBox HQ in the UK.
ShelterBox Founder and CEO Tom Henderson said: ‘The devastation in Haiti has moved everyone here. We now have our boxes on the ground and it’s a privilege to help. The scale of devastation is huge.
‘By the sheer grit and determination of our staff and volunteers we have been able to respond in record time. Our thanks go to the teams of volunteers, as well as to our donors, who have allowed us to do this.
‘ShelterBox relies entirely on public donations and people’s generosity. We receive no institutional funding. I’d urge, if you can, to help us.’

Public donations are vital to ShelterBox’s continuing work around the world. To make a donation call 1 800 677 0990 or go to www.shelterbox.ca to donate online and get the latest updates on the charity’s response to the Haiti earthquake.

*For footage of ShelterBoxes arriving in Port au Prince and interviews with our team on the ground in Haiti, ring Angelina Lambourn in the UK on 01326 569782 or 07833 050295

Three Operations Centres

2010-01-18T10:27:00.000-08:00

ShelterBox has established three separate operational centers in and around Haiti to help distribute assistance to the estimated one million people left homeless by the devastating 12 January earthquake.

The three-person ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) in Haiti has set up an operations base in the capital Port au Prince with the assistance of local Rotarians to co-ordinate the delivery of aid in the country. They are working with the French aid agency ACTED to determine the areas in most need of assistance and are training personnel to put up tents ahead of their arrival into the devastated country.

The Haiti operation is being supported by logistical hubs set up in Miami and the Dominican Republic capital Santa Domingo. ShelterBoxes have been flown to both cities for onward transportation to Haiti. Overall logistical co-ordination is being managed from ShelterBox HQ in Helston.

ShelterBox Head of Operations John Leach said: ‘This is the largest, quickest and most complex deployment in our history. We are now very well organised across four countries to get ShelterBoxes to the people of Haiti quickly.

‘We are now set up to channel aid to those in need efficiently and effectively in the days and weeks to come. This is a long term commitment from ShelterBox and we have to sustain our initial push.’

Warehouse volunteers continue to pack ShelterBoxes day and night. More than 3,300 ShelterBoxes have been committed so far, enough to help up to 33,000 people. Given the enormity of the disaster, more boxes are being packed ready to be sent to the Caribbean country.

ShelterBox Founder and CEO Tom Henderson added: ‘The need in Haiti is huge. Current estimates are that there are over a million people who have lost their homes.

‘We continue to rely on the support of volunteers and donors to allow us to help them in the days and weeks to come.’

*For interviews with our team on the ground in Haiti, please ring 01326 569782 or 07833 050295.

Boxes on the Ground in Haiti

2010-01-18T09:12:00.000-08:00

Support is growing all across Canada. We are currently over 300 boxes and are aiming to be 10% of the 10,000 boxes ShelterBox Worldwide will be shipping into Haiti. So let's go Canada we need to raise 1000 boxes in the next two weeks. Thanks for your phenomenal support and keep it coming.

Mail cheques to our main office or go online at www.shelterbox.ca to donate right now.
Don Ohlgren
ShelterBox Canada

This is the internal situation report from HQ as of 1015hrs on Monday, January 18:
• UK SRT Ian Neal flying to Dominican Republic
• US SRT Mark Dyer heading up Miami logistics team
• UK SRT Joe Cannon working with UK logistics and ops
• UK GM and SRT Lasse Petersen mobilised to Miami as Logistics Field Co-ordinator
• ShelterBoxes are on the ground in Port au Prince with Red Cross and El Salvador military
• The team on the ground in PAP (David Eby, Wayne Robinson and Mark Pearson) are continuing to work with ACTED and local Rotarians in order to ensure the fastest and most effective delivery of the boxes. The team have commenced ‘Train the Trainer’ sessions with on the ground contacts to help them deliver boxes and pitch tents.
• The SRT in PAP are well but dealing with a logistical nightmare. There are water, food and fuel shortages. Security is calm but unpredictable.
• 1,700 ShelterBoxes have already been despatched. These include the prepositioned stock in Curacao, the boxes from El Salvador, the boxes sent to France to fly across with the Red Cross and boxes being flown into Miami by Virgin Atlantic.
• Another 1,600 boxes are being packed making a total of 3,300 committed so far. This is enough aid for up to 33,000 people. Volunteers will still be packing round the clock throughout the coming weeks.
• It’s likely that some these boxes will fly from Newquay airport this week with trucks beginning to ship them to Newquay from Helston on Monday – NB: This is highly likely to happen and we are awaiting confirmation.
• The ShelterBox Logistics team in Miami are Mark Dyer, John Lacquey, Steven Tonkinson and Ian Neal. Boxes are on the ground in Miami. Ian Neal will be heading to Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic to coordinate logistics from there.
• Quote from Head of Operations, John Leach: ‘The people in Haiti need everything now. We’re doing all we can to land emergency shelter provision in Port au Prince but we’re mindful of not adding to the logistical nightmare on the ground.
‘This is a massive logistical challenge and that is why we have teams on the ground in Miami and Santa Domingo to coordinate ShelterBox’s logistical effort.’

Key Facts
• The UN estimates that 200,000 families - up to one million people - are in need of immediate shelter in Haiti.
• The UN have also described this as the worst disaster they’ve ever had to deal with.
The situation remains fluid and is still changing constantly. Full report to follow shortly.

3330 ShelterBoxes to Haiti with more to follow

2010-01-17T11:41:00.000-08:00

1,700 ShelterBoxes have already been dispatched and a further 1,600 will leave from the UK this week directly for Port au Prince, Haiti. Warehouse volunteers in the UK have worked tirelessly packing the boxes. This is a total of 3,300 ShelterBoxes with more to follow.

The ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) on the ground is continuing its work with ACTED and local Rotarians in order to ensure the fastest and most effective distribution of aid.

David Eby (US), Wayne Robinson (US) and Mark Pearson (UK), who have been in Port au Prince since Thursday, have commenced training sessions with their contacts on the ground to help them deliver and distribute the ShelterBoxes.

While there has been no confirmation of ShelterBoxes arriving in Port au Prince logistics teams in the UK, the ShelterBox Logistics team in Miami and the SRT in Haiti are doing everything within their power to ensure the boxes reach Haiti as quickly as possible.

ShelterBox Head of Operations John Leach said: ‘The people in Haiti need everything now. We’re doing all we can to land emergency shelter provision in Port au Prince but we’re mindful of not adding to the logistical nightmare on the ground.

‘This is a massive logistical challenge and that is why we have a team in Miami helping coordinate the logistical effort.’

SRT members Mark Dyer, John Lacquey, Steven Tonkinson (all US) and Ian Neal (UK) have met up with ShelterBoxes sent to Miami on Virgin Atlantic flights. Ian Neal will be heading to Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic to run further logistics from there and work with the Response Team in Port-au-Prince.

"It is Worse than the Tsunami"

2010-01-16T08:31:00.000-08:00

More than 200 ShelterBoxes filled with disaster relief tents and emergency supplies are set to arrive in Port au Prince, Haiti later today.

256 ShelterBoxes that were dispatched from the prepositioned stock in Curacoa on Wednesday are due to touch down in Haiti late this afternoon, Haitian time, providing the plane they are on is cleared to land. However, the situation in Port au Prince is extremely fluid and logistics are changing minute by minute.

Aid workers for the international disaster relief charity ShelterBox have been in Port au Prince since Thursday and have been working around the clock assessing the most effective ways to distribute the much needed aid. The ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) members David Eby (US), Wayne Robinson (US) and Mark Pearson (UK) says the situation on the ground is frantic but they are doing all they can to make sure they deliver aid into Port au Prince as quickly as they can.

Mark Pearson, who was one of the first on the ground in the Indian Ocean Tsunami, said: ‘This is worse than the Tsunami. It’s utter chaos at the airport. Buildings have been completely destroyed, the hospital has been destroyed. It’s a full scale emergency, there’s so much destruction.

‘The priority at the moment is search and rescue and then after that emergency shelter provision, so obviously there’s frustration. There’s no fuel and people are hunting for water. It’s difficult to but the scale of destruction into words.’

A second Response Team, consisting of SRT members Mark Dyer and John Lacquey (both US), are in Miami, USA coordinating the ShelterBox logistical effort into Haiti from there. They will be joined later today by SRT member Ian Neal (UK) who will be travelling with the ShelterBoxes which are being shipped through Miami.

Before he left the UK, Ian said: ‘I’m tasked with delivering emergency shelter to people affected by the earthquake. I’m just focusing on the good we can do.

‘Every disaster comes with shocking images but I’m going to focus on giving help to the people who have survived the earthquake. We’re just waiting for the ShelterBoxes to arrive which should be very soon.’

A Virgin Atlantic flight, loaded with ShelterBoxes, left the UK today heading for Miami. Virgin Atlantic are flying ShelterBoxes out of London Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports. Volunteers at ShelterBox UK have worked through the night packing boxes and will still be in full swing throughout the weekend.

ShelterBox’s Head of Operations, John Leach, added: ‘We’re doing all we can both here and in Port au Prince to clear the plane from Curacao for landing and we’re also awaiting confirmation that the 70 boxes sent from El Salvador have arrived.

‘The efforts of ShelterBox volunteers and supporters around the world is a true testament to the organisation. The job of getting aid to Haiti is well underway but there’s more hard work ahead. Please help in anyway if you can.’

Latest from Haiti

2010-01-16T08:24:00.000-08:00

This is the latest situation report, as of 1045hrs Saturday, January 16, below:

• 256 boxes from Curacao are due to be flown in to Port au Prince by tonight
• Good comms with three man response team (David Eby, Wayne Henderson and Mark Pearson) in Port au Prince, Haiti
• Logistics team of Mark Dyer and John Lacquey are in Miami
• They will be joined by Ian Neal arriving tonight (our time) who will go out to Port au Prince with boxes as soon as, probably by boat
• Boxes have been packed through the night at HQ and more are being packed today and tonight.
• Virgin Atlantic flying boxes to Miami
• Still investigating charter options for next 1,000 boxes, possibly going from Newquay
• Red Cross flight from France may go out Tuesday
• Have quotes from Ian Neal: ‘I’m tasked with delivering emergency shelter to people affected by the earthquake. I’m just focusing on the good we can do. Every disaster comes with shocking images but I’m going to focus on giving help to the people who have survived the earthquake. We’re just waiting for the ShelterBoxes to arrive which should be very soon.’
• Mark Pearson quote from Port au Prince: ‘It’s utter chaos at the airport. Buildings have been completely destroyed, the hospital has been destroyed. It’s a full scale emergency, there’s so much destruction. The priority at the moment is search and rescue and then after that aid, so obviously there’s frustration. There’s no fuel and people are hunting for water. It’s difficult to put the scale of destruction into words.’

"There is no more Haiti"

2010-01-15T13:46:00.000-08:00

ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) members Dave Eby (US), Wayne Robinson (US) and Mark Pearson (UK) are on the ground in Port au Prince, Haiti.

The team arrived in the island’s capital on Thursday, January 14 and have already been in contact with government officials, ACTED and Rotarians in the country.

The Response Team, who are completely self-sufficient, have set up base with the help of a Haitian Rotarian. Speaking from Port au Prince, David Eby said: ‘We’re working hard to resolve security, logistics and communications. The city is totally devastated. Our host told us, “There is no more Haiti .”’

The situation on the ground remains fraught with the damaged infrastructure in Haiti hampering the aid effort but ShelterBox is doing everything within its power to ensure aid reaches Haiti imminently.

ShelterBox’s Head of Operations John Leach said: ‘We spoke with our team in Haiti this morning and already they’ve been working with other aid agencies and the government to assess where ShelterBoxes are most needed. ‘Our priority is now getting logistics in and doing all we can to get it on the island. We’re sending a ShelterBox Logistics team into Miami to work and coordinate logistics into Haiti from there.’

ShelterBox’s Logistics Manager Richard Lewis added: ‘We’re doing everything we can to make sure emergency aid reaches the people of Haiti. ‘The situation is changing by the minute and we’re exploring every single avenue available to us in order to make sure the aid gets on the ground as quickly as possible.’

The ShelterBox Logistics team, made up of SRT members Mark Dyer (US), John Lacquey (US) and Ian Neal (UK), will meet a consignment of ShelterBoxes being flown into Miami, USA and run the logistics into Haiti from there.

930 ShelterBoxes have already been dispatched and are en route to Haiti while another 1,000 are being packed today at ShelterBox HQ by ShelterBox’s team of volunteers. Virgin Atlantic are supporting the relief effort by flying hundreds of the ShelterBoxes on their planes.

Sir Richard Branson, President of Virgin Atlantic, said: ‘Everyone who has seen the sheer destruction in Haiti over the last few days will have been moved to help in any way they can.

‘We will fly in as much aid as possible so that the agencies on the ground can respond to the needs of everyone in Haiti whose lives have been devastated by this tragedy.’

With the need in Haiti growing each day, there are millions of people in need of emergency shelter. ShelterBox Founder Tom Henderson, OBE, says support at this time is crucial.

‘The support we’ve seen in the last few days has been staggering,’ he said. ‘It’s all hands on deck for ShelterBox right across the globe. People in Haiti need our help and we stop until they get it. If you can help, in any way at all, I’d urge you to do so.’

ShelterBox Rushing Aid to Haiti

2010-01-14T16:23:00.000-08:00

The catastrophe continues to unfold and ShelterBox are working round the clock to ensure emergency shelter reaches the island as quickly as possible. Reports from Haiti say thousands of people have been sleeping in the open air for the second night running, with some people even being forced to sleep among dead bodies.

With such a pressing need for emergency shelter provision, ShelterBox is dispatching 700 ShelterBoxes with even more to be packed before the end of the week. ShelterBox is using all of the resources available to make sure immediate aid reaches Haiti. Boxes are being shipped direct from ShelterBox HQ, from prepositioned stock in Curacao and from El Salvador.

A three-person ShelterBox Response Team comprised of highly-experienced members David Eby (US), Wayne Robinson (US) and Mark Pearson (UK) are in Haiti. Alongside this,the dedicated team of volunteers at ShelterBox HQ are giving up their time to help pack the ShelterBoxes ready for transportation.

ShelterBox Founder Tom Henderson said: ‘Our team around the world are doing all they can to ensure aid reaches the people of Haiti as soon as possible. With each day the need grows and we’re doing all we can to get help to the thousands of families affected by this tragedy.

‘The response from our volunteers and supporters has once again been sensational. We can’t do this without the public’s compassion and generosity. If you can help us, even in the smallest way, then please do. ‘

If you can help, go to www.shelterbox.ca to donate NOW. Thank you.

Price Change for Canadian Boxes

2010-01-13T12:49:00.000-08:00

Effective immediately the cost to sponsor a complete Canadian Shelterbox will be $1000. We have been able to take this step given the forecasted stability of the Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar.
Of course we are a registered Canadian charity and thus accept donations of any size, large or small! Smaller donations are combined to make a full box and named for "Citizens of Canada".

Canadian Boxes to Malawi

2010-01-13T12:44:00.000-08:00

A series of earthquakes in the Great Rift Valley have left many people homeless in Malawi.These boxes were sent there by Canadian donors as part of a shipment of 200 boxes:
Rotary Club of Shediac, 1791
Rotary Club of Fredericton North, 1792/93
Rotary Club of Peachland, 1794/95
Rotary Club of Lake Country, 1796/97
Rotary Club of Winnipeg Assiniboine, 1798/99
Rotary Club of Waterdown, 1800/1801
Rotary Club of Kimberley, 1802/03
Rotary Club of Edmonton Sunrise, 1804/05/06

Canadian Boxes to Niger

2010-01-13T12:08:00.000-08:00

Another 100 Canadian Boxes have gone to Niger to shelter victims of unprecedented flooding. Here are the donors and box numbers:

Rotary Club of Prince George - Yellowhead & citizens of Canada, 1691
Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood, 1692
Rotary Club of Golden, 1693
Federko Estate, 1694
David & Lorraine Kelly, 1695
Rotary Club of Burlington Central, 1696
Rotary Club of Niagara Falls & Citizens of Canada, 1697
Patrick & Patricia Crofton, 1698
Rotary Club of Cranbrook & Citizens of Canada, 1699
Rotary Club of Collingwood South Georgian Bay, 1700
Rotary Club of Sarnia Bluewaterland, 1701
Rotary Club of Watford, 1702
Rotary Club of Petawawa, 1703
Rotary Club of Ottawa Kanata Sunrise, 1704
Rotary Clubs of Brockville, 1705
Rotary Club of Ottawa Stittsville, 1706
Rotary Club of Arnprior, 1707
Rotary Club of Renfrew, 1708
Interact Club of Horton High School, 1709
Roger Albert, 1710
Rotary Club of Gagetown, 1711
Rotary Club of Halifax Harbourside, 1712
Russ & Christine Mallard in Memory of Christopher Driscoll, 1713
Rotary Club of Dieppe, 1714
In memory of Margaret Force, 1715
Gary Gurnsey, 1716
Windward Software Inc.(Kevin Schilter), 1717
Rotary Club of Penticton Okanagan, 1718
Rotary Club of Lake Country & Citizens of Canada, 1719
Rotary Club of Dryden, 1720
Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout, 1721
James Retson, 1722
Laurel Ormiston, 1723
Hilly Lake Construction Company, 1724
Straight Line North Inc., 1725
Rotary Club of Winnipeg West, 1726
Rotary Club of Winnipeg West & citizens of Canada, 1727
Rotary Club of Winnipeg North, 1728
Nancy Hansen & Peter Tonge, 1729
Rotary Club of Winnipeg Transcona, 1730
Don Fletcher, 1731
Larry Penner, 1732
Anonymous donation by member of Rotary Club of Saskatoon North, 1733
Gary Carlson, 1734
Rotary Club of Saskatoon Riverside, 1735
Ross Harwood & Brenda Banbury, 1736
Rotary Club of Saskatoon North, 1737
Rotary Club of Saskatoon , 1738
Rotary Club of Saskatoon Meewasin, 1739
Ian & Meredith Sutherland, 1740
Postle Family, 1741
Rotary Club of Saskatoon Nutana in memory Tim Sandell, 1742
Agrium Clavet Social Club, 1743
Rotaract Club of Prince George, 1744
Rotary Club of Vanderhoof & Citizens of Canada, 1745
Rotary Club of Fort St.James, 1746
Rotary Club of Prince George - Nechako, 1747
James & Ellen Loughery, 1748
Rotary Club of Tsawwassen, 1749
Harvey Hill, 1750
Al Hasley, 1751
William Witte, 1752
Rudy & Audrey Ramchandar, 1753
In memory of Lieselotte Marks, 1754
Rotary Club of Winnipeg Charleswood in memory of Cliff Palmer , 1755
Rotary Club of Mildmay, 1756
Rotary Club of Stony Plain, 1757
Rotary Club of Clover Park, 1758
Rotary Club of Sarnia , 1759
Rotary Club of Uxbridge, 1760
Rotary Club of Carleton Place, 1761
Rotary Club of Edmonton Gateway, 1762
Rashna Charania, 1763
Rotary Club of Dauphin, 1764/65
Rotary Club of Whitehorse Rendez-Vous, 1766/67
Rotary Club of Brighton, 1768/69
Rotary Club of Nanaimo Oceanside, 1770/71
Rotary Club of Lantzville, 1772/73
Rotary Club of Picton, 1774/75
Rotary Club of Truro, 1776/77
Rotary Club of Strathcona Sunrise, 1778/79
Rotary Club of Cobourg, 1780/81
Rotary Club of Thornbury & Clarksburg, 1782/1783
Canada Post Heritage Club (Rotary Club of Ottawa Kanata Sunrise), 1784/85
Rotary Club of Gananoque, 1786/87
Rotary Club of Fredericton Sunrise, 1788/89
Rotary Club of Shediac, 1790

Canadian Deployed to Malawi

2010-01-08T10:37:00.000-08:00

200 ShelterBoxes are being distributed in Malawi after a series of earthquakes brought devastation to thousands of people.

The three weeks of tremors that struck the northern district of Karonga last month left more than 4,000 households in need of emergency shelter. One quake measured 6.2 on the Richter Scale and prompted the government to declare a national emergency.

Last week a ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) made up of Larry Agee, John Cordell and Scott Robinson, all from the United States, and Canadian Dave Hallett, travelled to the south-east African country to oversee the distribution of 200 disaster relief tents and other emergency supplies.

Larry described how aftershocks were still being felt in Karonga. ‘We are seeing a lot of damaged homes with many completely destroyed,’ he said. ‘People whose homes are still standing are too afraid to go back in as quakes are still happening. Many are sleeping outside their homesteads to protect belongings and start the planting season. Others feel if they do not return to their homesteads soon they will have food shortages in the months to come. Family-size tents at people’s homesteads are proving essential.’

The ShelterBoxes are being deployed with support from the US-based charity Marion Medical Mission. The team is also liaising with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies during the distribution.

Malawi is situated at the southern end of the Great Rift Valley - a 5,000-kilometer-long fault line that runs north-south from Lebanon to Mozambique - a position that makes the country vulnerable to earthquakes.

2010-01-06T10:47:00.000-08:00

2010-01-06T10:45:00.000-08:00

2010-01-06T10:44:00.000-08:00

SRT Report from the Philippines

2010-01-06T10:12:00.000-08:00

The main Philippine island of Luzon was hit by three successive, devastating typhoons in the fall, releasing unprecedented amounts of rain. The combined effects of these
typhoons caused extensive flooding in the Metro Manila and coastal lowlands areas, as well as massive land slides in the mountainous interior, resulting in the displacement of approximately 8.5 million people and the destruction of thousands of homes. The death toll was approaching 1,000 and continuing to rise as a result of water borne diseases carried in the extensive flood waters, which are not expected to recede for several months in the Laguna de Bay area near Manila.

I was called as Team Leader in late October along with an international ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) to provide ongoing aid to the devastated areas. We were the fourth team deployed and operated in two phases; my wife Claire, also an SRT & a Rotarian, joined me for the second phase of our 3 week deployment. The previous SRTs had provided relief supplies mainly to the Manila area; as a result, we concentrated on the northern mountainous areas and the flood ravaged lowlands to the northwest. The mountains of Northern Luzon are strikingly beautiful, but the contrasting devastation and destruction by the enormous landslides was disturbing. The mountains are remote and rugged with roads (challenging at the best of times) badly damaged by the landslides. We nervously crossed many slides on roads that had just been reopened. Three weeks after the last typhoon, some mountain villages were still cut off and many more were just getting roads opened. Our ShelterBox tents and supplies were very gratefully received by people who were living in evacuation centres, makeshift shelters or sharing very cramped living quarters with friends and families. We provided tents for a group consisting of 13 families sharing one house.

The Rotarians of The Philippines were of great assistance to us. They provided transportation, lodging, food, logistical support and their intimate knowledge of the area. Many worked long, tireless hours along side us helping to distribute our aid. Their assistance was invaluable.

As ShelterBox Response Team Members, we often are the beneficiaries of both formal & informal heartfelt expressions of gratitude from the recipients of our aid. We are simply fortunate enough to be the ones distributing the tents and relief supplies; this enormous show of gratitude goes to all the many supporters of ShelterBox. I offer to all our supporters the following quotation from a letter addressed to our team from the Mayor of Rosales, a municipality where hundreds of homes were destroyed by flooding:

“The typhoon Pepeng(Parma)may have torn down and broke our dreams into pieces but our will to bounce back remains steadfast and firm. To be candid though, surviving the immediate aftermath of the onslaught is indescribably tough and oftentimes disheartening.Nevertheless along those periods, charitable people like you eased our sufferings and made us feel blessed amidst the chaos. Apparently there is more beyond the temporal relief you have extended us and that is your gesture of care and love for us. This has in wonderful ways rekindled our spirit to stand on our own and strive once again.”

This letter says it all. It is clearly what ShelterBox is all about and is intended for all our many, many supporters.

Ron Noseworthy
Rotarian & SRT Team Leader

2009-12-01T10:46:00.000-08:00

Latest Deployment News for Canadian Boxes

Canadian Boxes numbered 1650 to 1690 were sent to the Philippines as part of the huge relief effort after the devastating typhoons this past fall.

Cameron Leamy 1651
RC Bracebridge-Muskoka Lakes 1652
James & Nancy Sissons1653
Bryan Bass 1654
Susanne Grundison & Dave Free 1655
RC Campbell River Daybreak 1656
RC Powell River 1657
Leslie Mosher 1658
RC Regina Industrial Parks 1659
RC Medicine Hat Sunrise 1660
RC Port McNeil 1661
RC Invermere 1662
RC Hinton 1663
RC Whitby 1664
Frederick Mallett 1665
Marsha Lloyd & Blore Family 1666
Chester MacPhee(RC Truro)1667
The McGale Family 1668
RC Regina Eastview 1669
RC Huntingdon 1670
RC Port Perry 1671
Lauren Carson & James Carson 1672
RC Colwood 1673
RC Kindersley 1674
Margot Harrison/Ramsay Murray & Citizens of Canada 1675
Peter Gorham 1676
RC Whitby Sunrise 1677
Cooke's Presbyterian Church 1678
RC Gravenhurst 1679
RC Lethbridge Sunrise 1680
Terrance Lawrence 1681
Susan Peterson 1682
RC Mississauga-Streetsville 1683
RC Burlington North 1684
RC Halifax 1685
RC Truro 1686
RC Napanee 1687
RC Niagara Falls Sunrise 1688
Frederick Wright 1689
RC Truro 1690

2009-11-28T10:57:00.000-08:00

2009-11-28T10:50:00.000-08:00

Canadian Response Team Member in Sumatra
On September 30, 2009, a 7.6 Magnitude earthquake devastated the Western Sumatra province around the city of Padang. In October, three overlapping ShelterBox Response Teams were deployed to deliver over 750 ShelterBoxes.

I had the privilege of being a part of the final ShelterBox team in Sumatra and arrived in Padang City on October 18th. The Teams were based in ShelterBox tents at Padang airport, only one hundred meters away from the secure ShelterBox cache.

We did not act alone. With the help of a few key Indonesian Rotarians we were able to secure the ShelterBoxes into Jakarta Duty-Free. Rotarians also helped organize the local Search and Rescue and Boy Scout groups to assist in the assessment and delivery of boxes in several key areas. The Royal Australia and US air forces provided heavy lift aerial transport with space on their Hercules aircraft. The International Organization for Migration provided free trucking of loads of up to 45 ShelterBoxes at a time on roads that were threatened by landslide and were marginal at best.

In addition to the small groupings of tents around countryside Jorong (villages), two ShelterBox camps were established for entire village communities that had been buried by landslides and the resulting Internally Displaced People (IDPs). At the time of our deployment these were the only two IDP camps in operation within the affected regions.

Walking through the camp area, the Team caught the squeals of laughter from children and noted the obvious pride with which each family had swept clean and kept their respective tents properly tensioned and staked. Shoes neatly lined the vestibule and on the inside carpets and bed spreads were dry. The monsoons which came each afternoon had not managed to penetrate any of the tents we had observed.

Despite the continuing threat of slides and aftershock the Sumatran people were well underway into the transitional phase of recovery and by the time we left on October 31st, there were many signs of more permanent shelters being erected. Despite this, we were assured by local officials and citizens alike that the ShelterBoxes, tents and supplies would be very well used in the year to come. It was likely that the IDP camps would be inhabited for a period of at least 4-6 months.

While ShelterBox is all about providing “Shelter, Warmth and Dignity” and “Doing the Most for the Most”, what often goes unmentioned, is that in the pursuit of these missions, ShelterBox also saves lives; specifically when children and the elderly are removed from the exposure of the weather, the bites of mosquitoes and the sting of the sun. Donors must appreciate that their ShelterBoxes are gifts that were very well received and respected by all of the earthquake recipients and their communities. And so I send a warm thank you from Sumatra to all of the many ShelterBox supporters that make our mission possible, from the box packers in Helston, UK, to the smallest school groups in Canada. Thank you.
Per Dahlstrom, SRT

2009-11-27T19:53:00.000-08:00

ShelterBox heads back to Burkina
A ShelterBox Response Team is heading back to Burkina Faso to oversee the distribution of disaster relief tents sent to the country in October.
Last month the international disaster relief charity delivered enough emergency shelter for up to 5,000 people in Ougadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, which was hit by its worst flooding in living memory. Three camps were set up for communities whose homes had been destroyed by the torrential rains.
Now SRT members Lizzy Treglown (UK) and John Mackie (UK) will travel to the area to assess the condition of tents and complete the distribution of prepositioned aid.
John Leach, Head of Operations at ShelterBox, said: ‘When the last team was in Burkina Faso we were able to set up camps for hundreds of displaced families. Our second team will help complete the distribution of prepositioned ShelterBoxes to those still in need of shelter provision.'
In total, close to 150,000 people in Ougadougou were affected by the floods in September. Following the disaster, ShelterBox tents were packed and flown to Ougadougou in a UN plane. They were sent from Newquay Cornwall Airport for the first time in the charity's history.