Haiti - Three Months On

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.’

...And Now Chile

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."

The Pictures Speak For Themselves

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.

Boxes on the Ground in Haiti

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

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.

Canadian Boxes to Malawi

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