Relief: Syrian Crisis & Other Disasters

Thank you for helping ShelterBox provide emergency tented shelter and supplies to families that have lost their homes and possessions following natural disasters and conflict around the world, and allowing them to rebuild their lives with dignity and in safety.

ShelterBox continues to respond to natural disasters and conflict across the globe. Your support has helped ShelterBox deliver boxes and other emergency supplies to families affected by the tornado in Oklahoma, conflict in Myanmar, cyclone in Madagascar, flooding in Uganda, earthquakes in Pakistan and the Solomon Islands, flooding in Australia, and the Syrian crisis in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Oklahoma
On May 19, a devastating two-mile wide tornado tore through Moore, Okla., with winds up to 200mph destroying neighborhoods, killing dozens, injuring hundreds and displacing thousands.  Members of the highly-trained ShelterBox Response Team (SRT), Wayne Robinson, of Roswell, Ga., and Jeff Deatherage, of Leawood, Ks.,  were immediately deployed to the Oklahoma suburb where they began assessing the need for emergency shelter and other lifesaving supplies for the vulnerable families.

The team worked with local volunteers and emergency mobile phone company, SpareOne, to provide a means of communication to the most vulnerable families.

“The SpareOne phones distributed will allow survivors to have quick access to emergency services and keep in touch with their loved ones at a very difficult time in their lives,” said Emily Sperling, ShelterBox USA president.

Uganda
Having endured conflict, mudslides, a cyclone and severe storms that had swept through the country last year, several regions of Uganda suffered the flooding and damage from torrential rains this spring.

In May, continuous heavy rain fall in the western Kasese region caused what the country’s authorities are calling the “worst flooding since 1976.” Homes were washed away, hospitals inundated and roads made impassable.  The SRT was on the ground immediately, and began working to identify emergency shelter and other non-food item needs among families and communities. ShelterBox partnered with local partners to distribute ShelterBoxes that had been prepositioned in the country's most disaster-prone regions on previous deployments.

In March, torrential rains swept houses away, displacing thousands in the country's southeastern Mbale district, a region that had been hit by three disasters over the past twelve months. A response team collaborated with the Rotary Club of Mbale and local aid agency, Volunteer to Support Children, to distribute boxes to the families that had been left with nothing.

Pakistan
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake destroyed local houses and shops in Mashkail, an isolated area in south-western Parkistan. Although national relief efforts were underway, the isolation caused significant delay in the delivery.  Prepositioned ShelterBoxes in Islamabad held by the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP), and ShelterBox’s implementing partner The Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP), enabled emergency aid to be delivered quickly to the affected families.

Myanmar
Commonly referred to as the Burmese Civil War, conflict and fighting between the Kachin Independence Army and the Myanmar Army restarted in June 2011 after a 17-year-old ceasefire broke down and continued throughout last year. A ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) travelled to Myanmar to meet with local and international agencies to find the most suitable way to support the thousands of families displaced by the conflict. the  to discuss plans with local government and international organizations to find a suitable way to support the thousands of families displaced by the Kachin conflict in the north of the country.

ShelterBox and the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED), agreed to work together to deliver aid to the vulnerable families. A cargo of ShelterBoxes was routed to Myanmar by sea, where ACTED carried out the distribution to families within the Kachin State.

Madagascar
Tropical Cyclone Haruna made landfall over the southwest coast of Madagascar in late February.  The Category 2 storm brought heavy rains that caused a tsunami-type flood with millions of tons of sand and soil that destroyed thousands of homes and nearly 20,000 acres of agricultural land. Tens of thousands of people had lost their homes and belongings in the storm.

Madagascar's desolate landscape and limited road access make it a challenging environment for humanitarian organizations to operate in, as it can be restrictive in transporting aid to those in need in the most hard-to-reach areas. Having previous experience responding in the country, an SRT was able to respond immediately, delivering boxes that had been prepositioned in the country’s capital, Antananarivo, to families in desperate need of emergency shelter and additional lifesaving supplies.

Australia
Tropical Cyclone Oswald caused the banks of the Burnett River to burst in Queensland, after high winds and torrential rain lasted for days.  The city of Bundaberg was one of the hardest hit by 31-foot flood that swept through the northern part of the city, inundating houses with water and mud.

Although the destruction was widespread, the government and local habitants reached out to the many families made homeless by the disaster, and sheltered them in undamaged homes in the area.
 
ShelterBox has recently distributed ShelterBoxes to families displaced by the recent bush fires in Tasmania, that followed the recent devastating floods that caused millions of dollars worth of damage.

Lebanon/Syria
Two years of ongoing conflict and political unrest has caused millions of Syrian families to flee. Since last fall, ShelterBox has been providing humanitarian aid to refugee families living in Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey, and continue to work with implementing partners to pipeline ShelterBox aid to internally displaced families within Syria's borders.

ShelterBox was the first international disaster relief agency to provide tents to Syrian refugees living in Lebanon, and has since distributed nearly 1,000 boxes to families in isolated regions.

Having been working closely with the Lebanese government to identify the need for humanitarian aid since August 2012, ShelterBox was the first agency to respond to the Minister of Social Affair's request for international assistance in January 2013. Because there were no refugee camps in Lebanon, it became obvious that the influx of Syrian families would overwhelm and nearly exhaust the small country's resources.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 6.8 million people have been forced from their homes in the war-torn country. Many now remain within the borders, homeless, and without any possessions. After 18 months of studying new routes, the ShelterBox Operations Team believes they have found a new route that will deliver vital equipment across the Syrian borders, directly to the families in need.

Due to its dangerous environment, delivering aid and other survival materials has been extremely difficult for most humanitarian organizations. However, ShelterBox teamed up with Hand for Syria (HIHS), one of the charities present in Syria, to deliver essential aid to Syrians desperately in need.

Today, SRTs continue to deliver emergency shelter and supplies to those who need it most in Lebanon and Jordan.

ShelterBox’s vision is to help 50,000 families who lose everything in a disaster every year.

Links:

• ShelterBox USA Home Page
• ShelterBox's Latest Work
• ShelterBox's Latest News

Thank you for helping ShelterBox provide emergency tented shelter and supplies to families after losing their homes and possessions following natural disasters and conflict around the world, allowing them to rebuild their lives with dignity and in safety.

Since last fall, ShelterBox has continued to respond to natural disasters and conflict across the globe. Your support has helped ShelterBox deliver boxes and other emergency supplies to families affected by Superstorm Sandy in the US Northeast, an earthquake in Guatemala, flooding in Uganda, a tropical storm in the Philippines, a cyclone in Fiji, bush fires in Australia and the Syrian crisis in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

US Northeast
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and subsequent winter storm in the US Northeast, ShelterBox deployed teams to New York and New Jersey. Ensuring vulnerable families were protected from cold weather and had adequate shelter was a priority. ShelterBox provided thousands of warm blankets and other emergency supplies.

ShelterBox Response Team member, Ryan Lampasona, a Florida resident who grew up in Long Island, led the team in New York, which distributed supplies to families door to door and in shelters. Speaking about the recipients, he said, “They were grateful; it almost brought the director [of the shelter] down to his knees crying. It’s tough coming back home to see such devastation in the streets, homes removed from their foundations, people living in the cold.”

With the help of Rotary volunteers and other partners in the area, 6,000 people received emergency supplies such as blankets, hygiene kits and children’s comfort packs.  

Guatemala
A 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck Guatemala about 2,000 kilometers from the capital, Guatemala City in November. The most powerful tremor the Central American country had felt in 40 years, the quake hit the mountainous area near the Mexican border, damaging infrastructure, cutting power and making hundreds of families homeless. A ShelterBox Response Team was assessing the need for emergency shelter when a second 6.1-magnitude quake struck the same area just days later, causing panic amongst communities.

ShelterBox Response Teams identified the most vulnerable people and delivered a total of 50 ShelterBoxes, 88 standard disaster relief tents and 410 midi tents to families in need.

Uganda
Floods forced at least 15,000 people to leave their homes in northern Uganda, where the deluge has destroyed houses, crops, roads and bridges. ShelterBox worked with the government to distribute shelter to landslide survivors in Bududa—providing in total, 110 boxes, as well as 200 blankets, 200 ground sheets, 100 water containers, cooking and eating utensils and other supplies.

Philippines
Typhoon Bopha struck northern Palawan with winds of 120 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 150 kilometers per hour last December. The eye of the storm struck the eastern coast, causing widespread loss of life and destruction in Davao Oriental Province. In Baganga alone, 19,500 families lost their homes and 172 people lost their lives.

Coastal, farming and mining regions have been widely affected. ShelterBoxes continue to be distributed in Compostela valley to enable people to live on their plots of land while rebuilding their homes. To date, 348 boxes and 486 tents have been delivered to families in need.

Fiji
A ShelterBox Response Team deployed to Fiji following Cyclone Evan, the biggest cyclone to strike the Pacific nation in two decades and left western parts of the main island Viti Levu the hardest hit. The category four storm with winds of over 200 kilometers per hour and heavy rains destroyed homes, caused flash floods and cut power.

Due to the preparedness of the country, the Fiji government was able to bring emergency shelter solutions to displaced families. ShelterBox assisted in needs assessments and distributed ShelterBoxes to the most vulnerable families.

Australia
Following bushfires that destroyed 1,300 homes in Australia, residents in the Tasmanian township had to flee their homes. ShelterBox worked with the local government and Tasmania’s State Emergency Service to deliver boxes to those in most need.

Iraq/Jordan/Lebanon/Syria
ShelterBox has been providing emergency shelter and supplies to families affected by the Syrian crisis in Iraq Kurdistan, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

In the fall, many displaced families made their way to the Domiz refugee camp in northern Iraq, where ShelterBox delivered aid. In addition to 500 “winterized” ShelterBoxes that include tents with an extra thermal lining, as well as warm hats and gloves as temperatures drop, stoves for heating and cooking and water filters,  ShelterBox Response Teams (SRTs) distributed classroom activity kits, which allowed 800 children to continue their studies while living at the camp.

Today, SRTs continue to deliver emergency shelter and supplies to those who need it most in Lebanon and Jordan.

ShelterBox’s vision is to help 50,000 families who lose everything in a disaster every year.

Links:

• ShelterBox USA Home Page
• ShelterBox's Latest Work
• ShelterBoxs Latest News