On January 12, 2010 an earthquake struck the Caribbean country of Haiti and caused destruction on a scale that had never been witnessed before. The United Nations described it as the worst natural disaster they had ever dealt with. More than 200,000 people lost their lives on this tragic day; a million more lost their homes. January 2010 was the dawn of ShelterBox’s tenth-anniversary and the charity was facing the toughest challenge in its history. ‘We immediately knew we were responding to a large-scale disaster,’ said ShelterBox General Manger Lasse Petersen. ‘What no one appreciated in the first 24 hours was the sheer scale of the devastation the earthquake caused. Ten minutes after news of the earthquake broke I phoned Wayne Robinson, one of our Response Team members in the US. I asked him, “Can you get to Haiti and can you go now?”’ Les than 36 hours later the first SRT members reached Port au Prince, Haiti’s capital. This was the start of the biggest response in ShelterBox’s history. More than 50 volunteer SRT members, people who give their time freely to help make a difference to the lives of others, have worked in Haiti since the earthquake. Working alongside a range of organisations, from the French Red Cross
to IOM, they have helped deliver emergency shelter to more than 275,000 people. SRT member, David Hatcher (UK), a retired police Chief Superintendent with 37 years experience of frontline policing was one of those deployed to Haiti. He said: ‘I thought I had seen tragedy at its worst. However, after 37 years of policing at the sharp end, nothing prepared me for the experience of the dilemmas that Haiti is still going through. ‘When in Haiti I knew that everyone we helped was just one more step in making an enormous difference to the future wellbeing of that family for the rest of their lives.’ Lisa Cranie, a physiotherapist who was treating people injuried in the earthquake, said: ‘These boxes are a dream come true for families forced to live on the streets. They’re the difference between surviving and not; they’re lifesavers.’ Tom Henderson, ShelterBox Founder and CEO, said: ‘Haiti’s road to recovery is a long one but together we have helped thousands of families take the first steps on this road. Your efforts have given them hope, courage and belief. The value of your acts of compassion and generosity can never be measured.’
Families from the Delmas 33 area of Port au Prince live in ShelterBox tents after the January earthquake. Photo Thomas Lay
Ten years ago I had one box and a dream to make a difference. Ten years later and ShelterBox is a globally represented charity making a significant contribution to disaster relief on the world stage. The past year has seen us face some of our biggest challenges and we have proved, yet again, the absolute and imperative need for high quality emergency shelter to protect the lives that are threatened every year following disasters of all types and magnitudes. Our work would not be possible without the support we receive from everyone who has supported ShelterBox, especially our wonderful volunteers. We’re also indebted to the global Rotary network who’s support is worth so much more than donations; they provide us with invaluable assistance in the field for our Response Teams, with everything
from dealing with logistics to providing a hot dinner. It also gives me great pleasure to welcome to the ShelterBox family our ever-growing number of international affiliates. These committed, talented and determined people are key elements of ShelterBox and integral in helping us continue to grow our work. Finally, I’d like to extend my deepest thanks to all of you for contributing to our disaster relief efforts. It’s because of your support that there are now thousands of families calling a ShelterBox tent their home. Your support has helped save and protect hundreds and thousands of lives. Thank you. Rotarian Tom Henderson OBE Founder & CEO
SRT member Tony Williams (UK) carries boxes onto the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia after a tsnuami destroyed homes. Photo Becky Maynard
The tsunami’s destruction in Indonesia was centred on the Mentawai Islands, a chain of around seventy islands approximately 150km off the western coast of Sumatra. The giant wave was triggered by an undersea earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter Scale. First-hand accounts from tsunami survivors said that it was only a matter of minutes from feeling the earthquake to the tsunami striking. The wave crashed up to 750 metres inland in some places, completely destroying any villages that were in its path. In order to deliver aid to the Mentawai Islands, SRT members had to make a 15 hour boat journey from Padang on Sumatra’s west coast to the islands. A team of seven embarked on the surf-charter Mikumba 1 to undertake one of the most difficult distributions in ShelterBox’s history. ‘We faced a huge number of challenges in making it to the islands,’ said SRT member Becky Maynard (UK). ‘From the worst weather conditions in 20 years to distributing in an incredibly remote environment, this deployment has been full of obstacles we’ve had to overcome.’
Since mid-October, ShelterBox has been delivering emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies in Indonesia and the Philippines. Indonesia was hit by twin disasters; a tsunami off the coast of Sumatra and the eruption of Mount Merapi in Central Java. A week before these disasters struck Indonesia, super-typhoon Megi, known locally as Juan, swept across the northern Philippines leaving a trail of destruction behind it. ShelterBox Response Teams (SRT) were immediately deployed to both countries and have helped make the difference to
A house is left upside down in the Philippines after Super Typhoon Megi
the lives of hundreds of families. More than twenty volunteer SRT members worked in Indonesia and the Philippines delivering aid to some of the most remote areas ShelterBox has ever worked in.
Enough aid for more than 5,000 people has been committed to the Mentawai Islands and ShelterBox is continuing to work with a range of different partners, including the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and SurfAid, to reach families who lost everything in the tsunami.
ShelterBox is also helping hundreds of families on Central Java who lost their homes in the eruption of Mount Merapi. SRT member John Diksa (FR) said many families are sheltering in schools and village halls and living in severely cramped conditions. In the Philippines, emergency shelter for up to 4,000 people has been distributed in the wake of super typhoon Megi. SRT member Chris Donald (UK) said his team distributed in some of the most remote areas of the country. ‘It’s the really remote parts that have been hardest hit,’ he said. ‘We met a lady and her six children who were sheltering and living under a collapsed roof. ‘She had no husband to help her rebuild and was living in a space smaller than a cupboard, exposed to the elements. I like to think that I’m hardened but this really hit me. Thanks to all our donors, the lady and her children are now in a ShelterBox tent.’ ShelterBox Head of Operations, John Leach, added: ‘ShelterBox has worked extensively throughout Asia and our global network of volunteers is key in enabling us to do this. People the world over are pulling together to provide emergency aid to families in need, wherever they may be.’
The floods that swept through Pakistan in August 2010 were described as having the scale of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami coupled with the devastation of the Haiti earthquake. The worst monsoon rains in living memory caused flooding on an unprecedented scale. At one point, a fifth of the country, an area bigger than the UK, was under water and an estimated 20 million people were directly affected by the flooding.
A mother washed her child at a camp of ShelterBox tents in Pakistan.
ShelterBox has worked throughout Pakistan since the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, forming a series of strategic alliances. As a result of this, the first 2,000 ShelterBox tents were distributed within 48 hours of the floods striking. ShelterBox’s partners in Pakistan, the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) have been integral in facilitating the effective distribution of aid.
‘We knew Pakistan was facing one of its worst monsoon seasons in years,’ said Mark Pearson, ShelterBox Field Operations Advisor. ‘As news of the floods came on to the radar and the size of the disaster became increasingly clearer, we knew there was a definite need for ShelterBox. ‘We had 2,000 tents in Pakistan ready for immediate distribution and through NRSP we were able to move families into tents less than two days after the floods began. The simple gift of shelter makes a huge difference to people’s lives. This praise has been echoed by Rotary International Past President, Raja Saboo: ‘The support and help from ShelterBox has been incredible. They have done a remarkable job in reaching out to the families affected and truly demonstrated their rapid response capabilities. Rotary is proud to have such a connection with ShelterBox.’ Emergency shelter for close to 150,000 people has been committed to Pakistan and distributed throughout the country, making this one of the largest deployments in ShelterBox’s history.
ShelterBox tents are scattered across high land in Sindh province, Pakistan after the flooding. Photo Mark Pearson
Chilean fire fighters erect a ShelterBox tent in badly affected rural areas of Chile following the massive earthquake in February. Photo Andy Green
Alongside the response to the Haiti earthquake, 2010 has seen ShelterBox respond to a series of disasters throughout Central and South America. Floods in Brazil and Mexico, landslides in Guatemala and Peru, a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Chile have all seen emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies delivered by ShelterBox. In March, ShelterBox responded to landslides in Peru and an earthquake in Chile, providing aid to families who lost everything in the respective disasters. ShelterBox Operations Coordinator Jess Stanton (UK) was part of the SRT working in Chile. ‘It was one of the biggest earthquakes ever with some communities hit by the earthquake and others by the tsunami,’ she said. ‘We helped a large family where the mother was just three days away from giving birth and her older baby had bronchitis. They’d 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.’ Aid recipient Sara Norambvena, aged 70,
added: ‘I never thought I would lose my house. Thanks to ShelterBox my family and I have a place now to spend the winter that’s coming. These tents mean we will be safe. ShelterBox is the first aid we have seen since the earthquake. We’re so happy we have not been forgotten.’ In late June, ShelterBox was yet again to be one of the only international aid agencies working in South America. Powerful flooding destroyed swathes of homes in north east Brazil, affecting thousands of families. More than 1,000 ShelterBoxes were distributed in the two provinces, Pernambuco and Alagoas. ShelterBox has also worked in Guatemala and Mexico this year, delivering more than 600 ShelterBoxes in both countries. ShelterBox Operations Manager, Alf Evans, said: ‘Central America bore the brunt of several tropical storms and the tail end of a series of hurricanes. The devastation in Guatemala and Mexico was huge but thankfully we were able to provide immediate assistance and have made the difference to the lives of hundreds of families.’
HAITI Earthquake No. Boxes - 27,500
Baby Regina lies asleep on a classroom floor in Niamey, Niger after her home was washed away in the worst flooding for 80 years. Photo Thomas Lay
Throughout the year ShelterBox has been present in Africa delivering aid in Kenya, Egypt, Uganda and Niger. ShelterBox has helped hundreds of families on both sides of the continent. One of the people helped was five monthold, Regina, in Niger. When the SRT found her she was sleeping on a concrete floor, surrounded by flies, after her home was destroyed when the River Niger burst its banks in Niamey, Niger’s capital. Regina was living in a school and being cared for by the local community while her father searched for work in the flood-hit city each day. Before the floods struck, Regina’s mother died of lung disease. ‘It breaks your heart,’ said SRT member Tom Lay (UK). ‘Regina’s story puts everything into perspective. These conditions are cramped and overcrowded. There’s no comfort at all. The most vulnerable sleep inside on the
concrete floors while others sleep outside with only branches and mosquito nets for shelter.’ 400 ShelterBoxes were delivered in Niger, helping Regina’s family alongside hundreds of others. Earlier in the year, ShelterBox had been working in Uganda in response to a series of deadly landslides. It was the first deployment for SRT member Laura Dale (UK) and an experience that will stay with her forever. ‘Seeing families move into ShelterBox tents filled me with a pride I’ve not felt before,’ she said. ‘Not of personal achievement or altruistic gain, but of being part of a charity where the difference they make is tangible. Many of the families had lost loved ones and some of them had lost their homes and belongings. In these desperate times, it felt good to be able to do something, however small, to help.’
ST LUCIA Hurricane No. Boxes - 80
EGYPT Floods No. Boxes - 224
PAKISTAN Floods / Cyclone No. Boxes - 7,000
CHINA Earthquake No. Boxes - 100
MEXICO Floods / Landslides No. Boxes - 544
PHILIPPINES Typhoon No. Boxes - TBC
GUATEMALA Tropical Storm No. Boxes - 512
FIJI Cyclone No. Boxes - 20
PERU Floods No. Boxes - 200
INDONESIA Tsunami / Volcano No. Boxes - TBC
CHILE Earthquake No. Boxes - 996
BRAZIL Floods No. Boxes - 1,059
NIGER Floods No. Boxes - 369
UGANDA Floods / Landslides No. Boxes - 200
KENYA Floods No. Boxes - 224
WHO WE ARE
KEEP IN TOUCH!
ShelterBox is an international disaster relief charity, specialising in emergency shelter provision. Humanitarian aid is delivered in iconic green ShelterBoxes.
ShelterBox Australia - timklar@xentech.com.au ShelterBox Belux - info@shelterboxbelux.org ShelterBox Brazil - info@shelterbox.org ShelterBox Canada – support@shelterboxcanada.org ShelterBox Denmark – gareth@shelterbox.dk
Each one contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, water purification equipment, a stove, blankets and other items essential for survival.
ShelterBox France – info@shelterboxfrance.org ShelterBox Germany – info@shelterbox.de ShelterBox Indonesia - info@shelterbox.org ShelterBox Netherlands - info@shelterbox.nl ShelterBox New Zealand – info@shelterbox.org.nz
ShelterBox responds to disaster as quickly as possible with the aim of helping the people who are in most need.
ShelterBox Norway – info@shelterbox.no ShelterBox Philippines - info@shelterbox.org ShelterBox Portugal - secretario@shelterbox.org.pt ShelterBox South Africa - info@shelterbox.org ShelterBox Switzerland – info@shelterbox.ch ShelterBox UK – info@shelterbox.org ShelterBox USA – info@shelterboxusa.org