NEWSLETTER
ISSUE 2 2015
WELCOME usually spend time under canvas for leisure – but what is it like in a disaster zone when this may be your only shelter option? The violent earthquakes in Nepal drew the world’s attention and sympathy. ShelterBox has been fortunate to have received support for its response from many helpful quarters – including help in the field from Gurkha soldiers, and from Rotarians and Rotaractors. We give you a flavour of these in this Newsletter, and of life-affirming stories from the mountain villagers of Nepal.
2015 is barely half done, but it has already shown ShelterBox at its most resourceful. We have helped the Pacific nation of Vanuatu recover from an immense cyclone, the people of Malaysia and Malawi recover from deadly floodwaters, people in Chile recover from a spectacular volcano, and we are still helping the people of Nepal to recover from destructive earthquakes. Our work has been as varied as the traumas the natural world throws at families. In this Newsletter we try to paint a picture of life in the disaster field, describing what it is like to battle with immense natural forces, and even with some man-made ones. The aid equipment we use continues to fascinate our supporters and donors. In this edition we have a look in detail at the wellknown ShelterBox tent. Here in the UK we
ShelterBox was pleased to be invited to set out its stall at Rotary International’s big Convention in Brazil on 6 to 9 June. This was a unique ‘shop window’ for us, an excellent opportunity to discuss our ongoing Project Partnership with Rotarians, and to meet like-minded people from across the globe.
ShelterBox at the Rotary International Convention in São Paulo, Brazil. June 2015.
Finally, our exciting joint venture projects in the typhoon-prone Philippines are coming to a close. With four colleague charities we have created typhoon-resilient dwellings for more than 8,000 vulnerable people, and mentored construction workers in ways to build back better against the storms. Everyone at ShelterBox is immensely proud of this lasting achievement, and I hope you – our generous donors and supporters – share that pride as we hand over new homes to grateful families.
ShelterBox and Rotary are official project partners in international disaster relief
CONTENTS P 3 Haiyan legacy – Our Philippines projects near their end P 5 Double jeopardy – Chile struck by volcano and flooding P 6 Optimism for Tanna – Aid for Vanuatu after Cyclone Pam P 7 Nepal quakes – When the roof of the world shook P 9 Nepal quakes – Friends in high places P 11 Nepal quakes – Stories from the mountains P 13 Equipment focus – ShelterBox’s range of tents
ShelterBox on deployment in the Kenyan drought of 2011
KEEP IN TOUCH: T: 01326 569782 E: info@shelterbox.org ShelterBox: Water-ma-Trout, Helston, Cornwall, TR13 0LW Compiled by: Mark Nicholson marknicholson@shelterbox.org Charity No: 1096479 Company No: 4612652 President: HRH The Duchess of Cornwall ShelterBox is a Charity independent of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation.
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THE HAIYAN LEGACY Typhoon Haiyan, the greatest tropical storm on record, was a wind of change in many ways. For ShelterBox it saw in a new era, reaching beyond emergencies towards resilience, and creating valuable partnerships to help storm-lashed communities.
Recipients of a shelter from our project with Handicap International. May 2015
‘Beckoning me into their new homes, eager to show me how they were decorating them. They were so proud.’
Through 2014 and into 2015 ShelterBox embarked on its mission to help rebuild communities and lives following disaster. Typhoon Haiyan, in November 2013, had created the right conditions for ShelterBox to be involved beyond the emergency phase of disaster relief. An outpouring of generosity from our supporters, and the clear need to help make the people of the Philippines less dependent on a cycle of international aid, led to four partnership projects. Two are now completed, partnered with ACTED (Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development) and Islamic Relief. A project with Handicap International will be finished within weeks, and the largest project with CRS (Catholic Relief Services) has less than three months to completion.
Overall, these four projects are creating nearly 1,700 transitional shelters. Each is designed to house a single family, and is constructed using locally sourced materials wherever possible. They have been built in areas that were in the path of Typhoon Haiyan - in Eastern Samar where the typhoon first made landfall, in northern Leyte close to the devastated city of Tacloban, and on the remote island of Bantayan in northern Cebu. In each of these communities a rigorous beneficiary selection process prioritised the most vulnerable, almost 8,000 people in all. The homes are safe and durable, but their construction has also helped to train the wider community in ‘building back safer’ against the Philippines’ violent climate. Toby Ash was ShelterBox’s project director. He says, ‘The scale of Haiyan’s destruction called for an extraordinary response. ShelterBox rose to the task, distributing urgently needed tents and non-food items to more than 7,000 families in the immediate aftermath of the storm. But we didn’t stop there. The need was too great for us to walk away, so we looked at how we could
continue to help the most vulnerable recover from this disaster.’ ‘By partnering with NGOs that had a larger operating presence on the ground, we were able to extend the breadth and depth of our assistance. I worked with partners in four areas that were hardest hit by the typhoon. When I first visited I was struck not only by the scale of the damage, but also the sense of hopelessness and despair.’ ‘Now the shelters are nearing completion, I can see the extraordinary and life-changing difference these projects have made to around 8,000 people. Families I first met a year ago living in leaky shacks cobbled together with salvaged materials, were last week beckoning me into their new homes, eager to show me how they were decorating them. They were so proud. These shelters have given them back their dignity and the opportunity to move on with their lives without living in perpetual fear of the next storm. This is something ShelterBox and all its supporters can feel justly proud of.’
Anna Lisa Calvadores, who has recieved a new ‘transitional shelter’ as part of one of ShelterBox’s projects in the Philippines. May 2015
ShelterBox is at work worldwide every week. Keep up to date with our projects and deployments on www.shelterbox.org
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Calbuco volcano in the state of Los Lagos, Chile. ShelterBox/John Cordell. May 2015
DOUBLE JEOPARDY IN CHILE In April the South American country of Chile found itself in the grip of a double natural disaster. The usually arid area of Atacama suffered intense rainfall, leading to rivers bursting their banks, flash flooding and landslides. The floods not only cut off roads, power and communications, but left more than 8,000 families with either damaged or totally destroyed homes. Meanwhile, more than a thousand miles away, in the state of Los Lagos, activity from the Calbuco volcano resulted in the evacuation of 6,600 homes. It erupted three times in eight days, its first activity for 42 years, and on 22 April it dispersed a 10 mile high plume of ash and pyroclastic material into the air. A 12 mile evacuation zone was enforced around the volcano amid fears it could collapse on itself causing a massive pyroclastic flow - a current of hot gas and rock that could travel downhill
ShelterBox responded as families were left without homes and shelter after two unpredictable forces of nature hit Chile. at speeds of 450 miles per hour, destroying everything in its path. Ayeaisa McIntyre, ShelterBox Operations Coordinator, explains how extraordinary these events are. ‘Not only was this unusual for ShelterBox, but the events themselves are historically unlikely. The Atacama region, which is one of the driest places on earth, received the equivalent of seven years of rainfall in less than 24 hours. In Los Lagos, the area surrounding the Calbuco volcano was evacuated prior to the first eruption in four decades. After the eruption on 22 April, people started returning to their ashcovered homes when two further eruptions took place.’ A ShelterBox team worked with fellow aid organisation Habitat for Humanity and the Chilean Red Cross Society to provide shelter kits to 1,500 families whose homes had been destroyed or damaged by these events.
A BOATLOAD OF OPTIMISM FOR TANNA In March the Pacific paradise of Vanuatu, just over 1,000 miles north east of Australia, was battered by Cyclone Pam, a tropical storm with wind speeds up to 170mph. Barely ten per cent of homes and buildings escaped damage or total destruction. The archipelago is made up of 82 islands, 65 of which are inhabited, so relief agencies faced widespread need across very remote communities, many accessible only by boat. ShelterBox response team member Ross Mackenzie from New Zealand had recently holidayed on the islands. Returning now in response to the cyclone, the sights that greeted him were a stark contrast. Ross said, ‘Flying in yesterday the view out of the window was one of total deforestation. The difference from our holiday here in October was immense, no lush tropical trees. The damage to the buildings varied from total destruction to major building collapse.’ Among the areas where ShelterBox focused its aid was the island of Tanna, only 25 by 12 miles, but home to 29,000 people, so one
of the most densely populated in Vanuatu. Villagers who live in its higher altitudes are native Melanesians who wear traditional grass skirts, and here modern inventions are restricted and children do not go to public schools. The people of Tanna subsist on crops of kava (an intoxicating root), coffee, coconut and copra oil. Cyclone Pam laid waste most of their means of living. Tanna was the embodiment of Vanuatu President Baldwin Lonsdale’s sad assessment that, after Pam, most of his people would have to ‘start again’ on rebuilding their lives and livelihoods. But ShelterBox was able to supply a boatload of optimism - 1,000 shelter kits containing waterproof tarpaulins, fixings and tools to create basic shelters, or to repair damaged roofs and buildings. The consignment made a complex journey from Subang in Malaysia, via Australia and the Vanuatu capital Port Vila, finally arriving on Tanna in a small carrier vessel. Thousands of blankets, solar lamps, mosquito nets and tarpaulins were also distributed. ShelterBox joined forces with colleague charity CARE International to help provide shelter to the people of Vanuatu.
A Tana family receives a shelter kit. April 2015 ShelterBox/Jimmy Griffiths
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WHEN THE ROOF OF THE
Earthquake devastation in Rameche Giau village, north west of Kathmandu. May 2015.
The earthquakes and aftershocks that rocked Nepal and the Himalayan ‘roof of the world’ produced challenge after challenge, but also attracted a wave of international sympathy. On 25 April the mountainous country, which contains some of the highest inhabited altitudes on earth, was shaken by a huge 7.8 magnitude earthquake. 8,500 people died, not only in remote rural areas, but also in the country’s two largest cities, Kathmandu and Pokhara. Everest trekkers and climbers were buried or stranded by avalanches. Half a million buildings, including world heritage temples, were demolished. Then, a little over two weeks later on 12 May, it happened again - a 7.3 magnitude quake. Even now, almost two months on, the ground still rumbles with frequent aftershocks. Most of the population has moved outdoors, sleeping under flimsy shelters in the open. But they are living in a monsoon climate with flash flooding and landslides a constant possibility. In a real test of its flexibility, ShelterBox has used the full range of its aid in its Nepal earthquake response – ShelterBox tents as medical facilities, shelter kits to get aid swiftly to mountain villages, and SchoolBoxes to bring some sense of recovery and normality to children in Kathmandu.
Once in a while ShelterBox is called to a disaster so complex that it takes all our resources, all our aid, and all our ingenuity to meet the needs of those in danger. ShelterBox and its partners have had to use inventive solutions - a variety of aid, and every form of transport from helicopters to trucks to trekking by foot. In the days immediately after the first quake ShelterBox tents were used as medical facilities outside damaged city hospitals, or as field hospitals in the foothills. Then a steady flow of Shelter Kits – containing tools and waterproof tarpaulins – were the ideal choice for helping remote mountain communities to start rebuilding their homes. Over 15,000 people have received ShelterBox aid so far, much of it delivered in partnership with colleague charities and other international organisations such as Rotary and the Royal Gurkha Rifles. As ever, Rotary was with us every step of the way. Ashish Chaulagain, a student at the Engineering College in Kathmandu, was the first person to alert us to the quake on that fateful Saturday. Ashish is also a Rotaractor, a member of Rotary International’s youth programme. His email to ShelterBox Operations told us starkly, ‘The environment is filled with fear. Emergency relief is required that is for sure.’ Ashish, and colleague Jitendra Singh, then continued working over the weeks with our response teams, using their local knowledge and language skills to help ShelterBox reach those in need.
WORLD SHOOK An initiative by a local Rotary Club focused on children in need. The Rotary Club of Bhadgaon is less than a year old, but had already taken on the massive project of supporting over 200 orphanages across the Kathmandu Valley. A response team from ShelterBox helped to source and deliver SchoolBoxes containing enough school materials for up to 450 children. The Rotarians had also brought in psychiatrists to help children traumatised by the quakes and ongoing aftershocks. ShelterBox response volunteer Torstein Nielsen says, ‘It was wonderful to see how the older children were taking care of the younger children. It was evident that the staff fostered a healthy, inviting family environment.’ Elsewhere a ShelterBox tent became an adaptable space for a local children’s art therapy organisation in Balaju Park in Kathmandu. This created a fun, friendly environment where children could overcome the trauma of the earthquakes. It will also be used to train counsellors and volunteers. ShelterBox CEO Alison Wallace says, ‘It is no surprise that a widespread disaster like this has required many different responses, and the use of different types of aid. We have been fortunate to team up with excellent partner charities, with Rotarians and the military to reach as many people as possible. And it is good to see the needs of these children being part of that mix.’
Photos top to bottom: A Nepali man collects a shelter kit; SchoolBoxes have been distributed with help from a local Rotary Club; A children’s art therapy activity set up inside a ShelterBox tent. June 2015
Our work in Nepal has been possible thanks to the generosity of supporters like you. To read the latest from Nepal and elsewhere visit 2 8 www.shelterbox.org
Photographs courtesy of Emily Whitfield-Wicks. May 2015
FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES ShelterBox response teams faced formidable climbs to take aid to Nepal’s remotest quakedamaged communities. But an offer of assistance came from a very experienced and famous military organisation Wherever ShelterBox is in the world, it always finds helping hands to deliver aid to families who have faced disaster and lost everything. In Nepal we were grateful for an offer of assistance that came from one of the most famous military units in the world, and one that couldn’t be more used to this inhospitable terrain – the Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR). The Gurkhas, whose soldiers are recruited in Nepal, are a unique unit in the British Army with a reputation of being among the finest soldiers in the world. They had been on reconnaissance in the township of Chautara, which ShelterBox
and other agencies were using as a distribution hub. Response team volunteer Liz Odell mentioned to them that ShelterBox’s in-country coordinator was Andrew Clark, who has a Parachute Regiment background. Andrew said, ‘Liz suggested we liaise, given that we have mutual contacts. A brew, good will and a handshake between two very willing parties made for a mutually beneficial relationship. This was a no-brainer - ShelterBox and the RGR are a match made in heaven, both with a desire for rapid distribution in remote areas.’
Even truck engineering presented its own challenges. One of the aid trucks developed a gearbox problem, which meant it had to reverse up hills, and then turn at the top to continue each leg of its journey! Five separate journeys were made to deliver the full consignment to the village of Taatigaun, each of them hand-loaded by the Gurkhas, ShelterBox and the Nepalese Army. Due to the quake and ongoing aftershocks the whole team was sleeping outside the compound in vehicles or in the open. It had been a mighty effort, but in the end 670 shelter kits were now in the villagers’ hands, giving them tools to clear rubble, to create dry shelters or to waterproof what remained of their buildings. Response team volunteer Sallie Buck said, ‘It was a hugely challenging exercise to reach these remote communities, but by working in partnership with the Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army we overcame the numerous obstacles put in our way. The team of Gurkhas – some of whose own families had been badly affected by the disaster – were some of the warmest and kindest people I have had the pleasure of working with.’
‘Some of the warmest and kindest people I have had the pleasure of working with’
Asked what the delivery of shelter kits meant, one of the villagers said, ‘It means a lot to us. It saves our lives. You came all this way to help us, thank you.’ ShelterBox’s work in Nepal was given an absolutely fabulous endorsement by Joanna Lumley OBE. Joanna has a personal connection with Nepal - her father was a decorated officer of the 6th Gurkha Rifles. More recently she became the public face of a campaign to give Gurkha army veterans the right to settle in Britain. In July 2009 she was applauded by huge crowds at Kathmandu airport, and greeted as a national hero. In a personal letter to ShelterBox in May she wrote:
‘I know the benefits they are bringing to the desperate people of Nepal at this awful time. If you read this, I urge you to make a donation straight away to ShelterBox.’ ‘And ShelterBox, to you I pay tribute for all the relief and comfort and means of survival you have provided over the years. Thank you with all my heart for what you are doing in Nepal, a country linked through history by the Gurkhas with our own.’ ‘Your aid is invaluable.’ Eva Doerr talks to Matthew Amroliwala on BBC News about ShelterBox’s aid push in Nepal. April 2015.
‘I have known ShelterBox since they first started up. The work they do is immediate and goes straight to the heart of catastrophes.’ ‘Effective, competent and extremely wellthought through though they are, they nevertheless need funding urgently: huge sums raised elsewhere do not reach them.’
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‘ALL OF THE BUILDINGS C - STORIES FROM THE MOU Wherever they turn on the mountain roads of Nepal our response team members hear tales of heroism, tenacity and bravery. Here are some of the villagers’ stories, as retold by our teams.
Maili Dotel was only 11 years old when an earthquake struck Nepal and India in 1934. When we asked her which earthquake was bigger, she replied, ‘the one this April was bigger, as all of the buildings crumbled into nothing.’ Her son lives abroad and men from her village have told her not to worry, as they will rebuild her house for her, and in the meantime they’ll look after her in their temporary tin-roofed shelter. She can eat only soft rice as her teeth are not what they once were and she struggles to chew. Alone
when the earthquake hit, Maili tried to run but couldn’t. A male neighbour pulled her to safety as they saw their houses fall to the ground. When asked about rebuilding her home, she said that she would like to build a big house with a balcony, but it’s much too expensive so she will only have a small one rebuilt. I asked her how she felt about foreigners bringing aid to her community – she replied, ‘I am happy to receive aid and food, but it would be better if we Nepali worked it out for ourselves.’
RUMBLED INTO NOTHING’ NTAINS Santash Dhakal is a third year Physics student at a university in Kathmandu. He burst out in a smile because he was so pleased we had revisited after aid distribution. He’s a very popular man in his village, as he travelled back from Kathmandu to help his community build their temporary shelters. He’s helped seven families so far and has wounds all over his hands as evidence. He is now working on building a shelter for himself and his brother. He plans to live in this post-earthquake shelter for around 2 years so that he can finish his Physics degree and then focus on building his family a more stable and strong home. The locals have given him an affectionate nickname, ‘Carpenter’, because he’s turned his full attention to building shelters for local families since the earthquake. When we asked how well the shelter kits have been working for him, he replied that they were enormously helpful, the tarps in particular and have allowed him to provide shelter for his friends, family and those in his community who are elderly and vulnerable.
Photographs courtesy of Emily Whitfield-Wicks. May 2015
Binda Ghorasaini was sleeping when her family’s house began to fall. She escaped from the crumbling house with her 2 month old baby in her arms and her little boy by her side. ShelterBox provided this family with a shelter kit which has allowed them to build a temporary shelter to sleep in, and a tarp to cover an outdoor living area which they use to eat under and shade themselves from the day’s intense sun.
From cake bakes & coffee mornings to marathons & skydives, or simply by making a donation, there are lots of ways you can help. Find out more, call us on 0300 0300 500, or go to www.shelterbox.org
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EQUIPMENT FOCUS – Aside from the green box itself, this domed white tent is the most distinctive item in ShelterBox’s suite of aid items. There is something very inviting about tented space. For most of us it may evoke happy memories, camping adventures, even childhood holidays. But, in the context of a disaster zone, it offers vital shelter, privacy, security and togetherness. ShelterBox has spent many years refining and developing the tent it gives to victims of disaster. It needs to be sure it can withstand extremes of climate, holding its own in severe heat and cold, heavy rainfall, and against storm force winds. Tested in wind tunnels to breaking point, the end product is now one of the most durable tents available, and is unique to ShelterBox. ShelterBox generally uses five types of tent. The standard white disaster relief tent, shown in our main photo, is made in China by Vango, part of UK outdoor manufacturer AMG. It has an outer material of 170 denier polyester, protected against ultra-violet, and is highly fire resistant to CPAI-84 standard. It weighs only 32kg, yet when unpacked its footprint is an impressive 430 x 540 cm. Main adaptations over the years have been a re-designed porch to make sure rain and snow don’t pool in the canopy, and improved vents to create adaptable ventilation. Interior linings allow for partitions, and for thermal linings where needed.
Midi tent, Malaysia 2015
Oase tent, Malaysia 2015
Flex 3 tent, DPRK (North Korea) 2015
UN standard family tent, Syria 2015
Find out more about our range of equipment at www.shelterbox.org
TENTS Adaptable venting
Curving poles for the porch roof
Fire and UV resistant material
Guy rope arrangement that requires fewer tent pegs
Wide skirts in a tougher material
Its four sister tents are: the Midi, a smaller version also manufactured by AMG. This is suitable for shorter term use and, due to its smaller footprint, is useful where ground space is limited. The Geo Dome, manufactured in Vietnam by the Dutch OASE Outdoors company, is similar in design and appearance, but is a slightly lighter weight. The Flex 3 tent is made in Pakistan by NRS Relief, headquartered in Dubai. This is also a dome tent, but based on a square footing, and distinctively has two canopied entrances. It also has a vent that can accommodate a stove chimney, so is ideal for cold climates. Lastly there is the UN standard family tent, used worldwide by the Red Cross and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. This rectangular space is a large 660 X 400 cm, and is manufactured by Belgian-based Alpinter Relief.
Photograph: Gonzalo RĂos Gaete and Tristan Potter
So, you can see that sourcing our tents is an international affair, and that one size doesn’t fit all. But, over the years, ShelterBox has adapted and improved the range of tents it can supply, so it can meet the needs of families wherever they find themselves displaced, homeless, or in need of shelter.
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Front and back cover: ShelterBox tents set up in a temporary camp on open ground in the Sindhupalchowk district. Nepal, May 2015.