Rotary Club of Londonderry

Update 7th April 2011

Update 24th March 2011

Update 18th March 2011

Update 14th March 2011

Update 11th March 2011

ShelterBox responding to Japanese earthquake and tsunami

A ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) is mobilising after a massive earthquake struck Japan earlier today. The earthquake, measuring 8.9 in magnitude, triggered a tsunami that’s caused extensive damage.

The latest reports coming out of Japan have shown cars, ships and buildings being swept away with waves of up to 10 meters high slamming into the coast. Areas across the Pacific Basin have been put on tsunami alert including Russia, Guam, the Philippines, Taiwan and Hawaii.

SRT members Lasse Petersen (AU), Mark Pearson (UK) and John Diksa (FR) are ready to head to Japan and begin ShelterBox’s international response.

‘The scenes we’re seeing are catastrophic,’ said Lasse. ‘Whole homes are being washed away and our thoughts go out to all the families who are facing this disaster. The epicentre was in Japan so our first team are mobilising to head there but we continue to watch very closely the path of the tsunami. We’re very aware the worst may not be over.’

According to U.S. Geological Survey the earthquake was magnitude 8.9 at a depth of 20 miles with the epicentre 250 miles away from Japan’s capital Tokyo.

The tsunami warning was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre and they say the wave could even reach as far as Chile.

Tom Henderson, ShelterBox Founder and CEO, added: ‘At present the scale of the disaster is difficult to measure. What we do know is that the combination of such a large earthquake followed by the tsunami has the potential to cause significant damage across the Pacific Rim.

‘We have aid pre-positioned locally and a member of the ShelterBox Response Team stationed in the Philippines enabling an immediate response

Update 8th March 2011

Update 28th February 2011

Update 13th January 2011

Yesterday, the ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) working in Port au Prince visited a camp where three hundred and sixty families have been living in ShelterBox tents since last February.

Within days of the disaster people who had lost everything in the earthquake flocked to a safe, flat area that prior to the earthquake had been an amusement park. The immediate shelter provided to them was tarpaulins but this was no way near adequate for the families who had moved to the camp. The first ShelterBox tents arrived in February and provided robust, quality shelter for families in desperate need.

SRT member Becky Maynard (UK) said: 'When we visited the camp yesterday we found all three hundred and sixty families living in ShelterBox tents which they've been living in for the past eleven months.

'The co-owner of the park, Peter Cantare, has given the area over for a camp which is impressive to see having seen land owners who are determined to get people off their land. After eleven months it will now be just a few weeks before the transitional shelters for these families is complete and they will all have a home.'

The homes these families will be moving into have been built by International Organisation for Migration (IOM), one of ShelterBox's key partners in numerous deployments.

'We have provided the emergency shelter solution but a robust enough solution to last almost a year until these families can return to a home,' added Becky.

The team also visited one of ShelterBox's key partners in Haiti, JPHRO, the charity established by actor Sean Penn. Like ShelterBox, JPHRO thought they would be in Haiti for a number of months after the earthquake to deal with the emergency phase of the disaster. However, their program, like ShelterBox's, has extended long after their anticipated end date due to the sheer number of people in desperate need.

Becky continued: 'JPHRO have established two camps for around sixty one thousand people who lost their homes following the earthquake. Yesterday alone four children had been born while we were at one of the camps.

'We were having a meeting just a few metres away and we could hear the screams that indicated another life entering the world. Even in the face of such adversity the cycle of life continues.'

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2010

Every year hundreds of thousands of people all over the world are affected by disasters, like earthquake, volcano, flood, hurricane, cyclone, tsunami or conflict. People often lose everything and would be unable to survive without help. ShelterBox instantly responds by delivering boxes of aid. Each box supplies an extended family of up to ten people with a tent, lifesaving water filtration system, stoves, pots and pans and basic tools to use while they are displaced. Since 2001, ShelterBox has provided shelter, warmth and dignity following over 80 disasters, in more than 50 countries.

The response to the recent ShelterBox Appeal for Haiti was amazing with almost £300,000 (€350,000) collected by District 1160, Ireland in a matter of 3 months, a figure unsurpassed by any other District in RIBI.

We can rest assured that the efforts of our District has saved many thousands of lives by delivering help in the form of shelter and survival equipment to where it was needed most. The ShelterBox Organisation visits our District Conference in September 2010 to personally thank Rotarians in Ireland for their generosity and kindness.

More recently Rotarians have been involved in helping those caught up in the flooding in Pakistan.

Below you can find details of the ShelterBox to learn how effective an aid it is in providing assistance to those caught up in disasters.

Shelter

At the heart of every ShelterBox is a disaster relief tent for a family of up to 10 people. It is custom made for ShelterBox by Vango, one of the world’s leading tent manufacturers, and is designed to withstand extreme temperatures, high winds and heavy rainfall. Internally, each tent has privacy partitions that allow recipients to divide the space as they see fit.

A smile

A children’s pack containing drawing books, crayons and pens. For children who have lost most, if not all,their possessions, these small gifts are treasured.

Warmth and protection

In addition to the tent, there is a range of other survival equipment including thermal blankets and insulated ground sheets, essential in areas where temperatures plummet at nightfall. Where malaria is prevalent mosquito nets are supplied, as well a life saving means of water purification. Water supplies often become contaminated after a major disaster, as infrastructure and sanitation systems are destroyed, this presents a secondary but no less dangerous threat to survivors than the initial disaster itself.

Self sufficiency

A basic tool kit containing a hammer, axe, saw, trenching shovel, hoe head, pliers and wire cutters enables people to improve their immediate environment, by chopping firewood or digging a latrine, for example. Then, when it is possible, to start repairing or rebuilding the home they were forced to leave.

Fit for purpose

Every item is durable, practical and brand new. The box itself is lightweight and waterproof and has been used for a variety of purposes in the past - from water and food storage containers to a cot for a newly born baby.

A heart to the home

Key items are either a wood burning or multi-fuel stove. The multi-fuel stove can burn anything from diesel to old paint. Some boxes also contain our specially designed wood burning Frontier Stove, pictured below. This provides the heart of the new home where water is boiled, food is cooked and families congregate. In addition, there are pans, utensils, bowls, mugs and water storage containers.

Adaptability

A broad range of equipment is kept in stock at ShelterBox so that the contents of a box can be adapted to a specific disaster. For example, following the Javanese earthquake in 2006, when some resources were available locally or could be salvaged from buildings, the overwhelming need was for shelter – so we just sent tents, packing two in each box.

Click HERE for newsletter update November 2010