From: Andrew Kuby [mailto:akuby@aesduediligence.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010 4:07 PM
To: shelterbox6440@gmail.com
Subject: February 2, 2010 Press Release for ShelterBox
To our ShelterBox Supporters:
Please note the attached press release which indicates that ShelterBox now has over 7,000 boxes committed to the Haiti relief effort. We could not have done this without your support. Thank you.
Thousands Move into ShelterBox Tent Village
Lakewood Ranch (February 1, 2010) -- Thousands of people left homeless by the devastating Haiti earthquake have moved into ShelterBox tents villages.
One camp situated near to the US Embassy in Port au Prince -- the encampment named Congress Camp, will house thousands of refugees from the centre of the city allowing them to stay close to their communities and carry on with their daily lives.
ShelterBox's Response Team (SRT) in Port au Prince has been working around the clock to help set up the camps with hundreds of disaster relief tents, each of which can house an extended family of up to 10 people. The team has worked closely with the French aid agency ACTED and IOM (International Organization for Migration) to create the tent village which is also equipped with showers and latrines.
"This is an urban camp which means people can carry on with their daily lives and won't be forced to locations outside of Port au Prince", said John Leach, ShelterBox's Head of Operations. We have a huge number of tents here which will provide shelter to thousands of people and give them a chance to start rebuilding their lives. But we also have tent encampments set up in several other locations in and around Port au Prince and thousands more ShelterBoxes on their way to the city."
In another camp in Delmas, a suburb of Port au Prince, work is continuing to provide emergency shelter to families with newborn babies and pregnant women. Additional tents have been set up with the help of the US Military's 82nd Airborne Division. ShelterBox now has enough shelter for 200 families are living in this camp.
"We are extremely grateful for the help from the US military and state department, and could not operate without their support," said Veronica Brandon Miller, Executive Director of ShelterBox USA.
ShelterBox has also worked with the women's charity V-Day in providing enough shelter for 400 to vulnerable women in Port au Prince. In addition, enough shelter and aid for 500 have been given to the French association, Enfants de la Rue, to help house children caught up in the quake.
Meanwhile the aid operation from ShelterBox continues. Another 1,800 ShelterBoxes are set to be flown to Santa Domingo, the Dominican Republic, on Friday, where they will be transported overland to Port au Prince. It will bring the total number of ShelterBoxes deployed in Haiti to more than 7,000 boxes, providing emergency shelter to more than 70,000 people.
ShelterBox Founder and CEO, Tom Henderson, added "None of this would have been possible without the fantastic fundraising efforts from ShelterBox supporters around the world. The need is huge but the response is matching it. By the sheer grit and determination of our staff, volunteers and donors we've been able to respond in record time, preparing more ShelterBoxes in two weeks than we've ever done before. We're in this for the long haul and I know our supporters will keep on going, keep on fundraising and keep on helping us make a difference."
Pictures of the deployment in Haiti are available on Flickr at the following link:
http://groups.google.com/group/shelterbox-usa/web/ftp-site-and-flickr-pictures
Andrew Kuby
ShelterBox Representative, Rotary District 6440
847-922-8201 voice
847-498-5079 fax
ShelterBox6440@gmail.com
www.shelterboxusa.org
"The need exists, the need persists"
Donations should be sent to:
ShelterBox USA
8374 Market Street #203
Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202
Please indicate that you are from Rotary District 6440 and include the name of your club when sending a donation.
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