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16 January Quest Speaker
June Wade ShelterBox
Photo by Justin
SheterBox deliver emergency aid and essentials that people need to begin rebuilding their lives in the aftermath of a disaster.
Each disaster is different, and so is every community. SheterBox makes considered assessments to provide the exact support that gives people the hope and the power to transform their own lives.
The emergency aid supplied comes in the form of ShelterBoxes and ShelterKits. A sturdy green ShelterBoxes contain family-sized tents specially designed to withstand the elements and provide people with temporary shelter until they are able to start the process of rebuilding a home.
ShelterKits contain all of the essential tools people need to start repairing and rebuilding homes straight away.
That’s not all. A home is much more than bricks and mortar or tarpaulin and tent pegs. The kits and boxes contain the items that help transform shelter into a home, like cooking sets, solar lights and activity sets for children.
The kits are tested and a team evaluates all of the aid to be provide by talking to, and learning from, the families who use it. SheterBox innovative and to continually evolving.
SheterBox has an amazing network of volunteers. The emergency aid is hand-packed with care before being transported around the world.
Highly trained ShelterBox response teams then go the extra mile to find the people left most vulnerable after a disaster – to make sure that no one gets forgotten or left behind. Our teams travel by foot, boat, helicopter or even tuk-tuk to get there. Whatever it takes.
The work isn’t done until the right materials to help people transform their lives has been provided.
ShelterBox response teams don’t just provide tools and tents or share skills. ShelterBox teams are the connection between ShelterBox’s supporters and people devastated by disaster – ordinary families helping other families thrown into extraordinary circumstances.
ShelterBox is working with our trusted partners in Syria, supporting families caught up in the latest fighting in the northeast.
ShelterBox is providing family-sized tents with winter liners for warmth, along with five sleeping mats per family.
Working through local partners, ShelterBox has supported over 50,000 families affected by the conflict in Syria and Iraq since 2012. This makes it the largest and most sustained response in our 19-year history. But the need is as urgent as ever. It is estimated that up to 160,000 are now being forced to flee because of the conflict, with that number expected to rise.
Since 9 July 2019, heavy monsoon rains have triggered flooding in the low-lying areas of Bangladesh. Around one-third of the country is now underwater.
Floods and landslides have damaged roads and vital infrastructure leaving thousands of people stranded and without electricity. More than 66,000 homes have been destroyed.
ShelterBox has a team in the country working with Rotary, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) and other humanitarian organisations.
Months of torrential rain have caused severe flooding in the capital of Paraguay, forcing entire communities to move to higher grounds to survive.
The unusually heavy rain has been linked to the climate pattern El Niño, displacing nearly 20,000 families who urgently need shelter and essential aid.
ShelterBox has worked with partners and local authorities to support families who have lost their homes. Distributions are now complete, with over 2,000 families receiving vital aid.
Severe drought in Somaliland has affected an estimated 766,000 people since November 2016.
Over the last three years the drought has killed up to 80% of the region’s livestock. This has had a devastating effect for thousands of families who rely on livestock farming, forcing them to flee their homes in search of better grazing land.
ShelterBox has worked closely with partner ActionAid to support families affected by the severe drought, with essential items like tarpaulins and rope.
ShelterBox has supported over 4,000 families so far, and we’re currently working to see whether we can undertake more projects in the area in the future.
Since 2009, Boko Haram has been waging an insurgency in Northern Nigeria. The violence has since spread to the neighbouring regions of Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
Around 10.7 million people in the Lake Chad region are in need of relief assistance. 2.4 million people are estimated to have been displaced and perpetual insecurity continues to drive displacement.
In Cameroon, a new project is supporting families with tents, shelter kits and other essential aid items. In Nigeria, ShelterBox will be working again with partner ACTED to support internally displaced families.
In Ethiopia, severe flooding and conflict have forced people to leave their homes.
Nearly one million people have been forced to flee because of violent conflicts in the Guji-Gedo zone since April 2018.
Severe flooding has also left thousands of families without homes. These rains have continued, triggering recurrent flooding and landslides.
With the support of a partner, ShelterBox has supported over 3,000 families in total so far. But our work is far from over; our next project starting soon will support over 1,000 more families.
1. Permission to respond
Is ShelterBox's response likely to be welcomed?
Has the affected country’s government declared a state of emergency and/or requested support from either local or international NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations)? ShelterBox needs to make sure that it can work in a country, and has permission from the relevant authorities to be there.
Will at least 200 families still need emergency shelter by the time the aid is provided?
ShelterBox's experience shows that when fewer than 200 families have lost their homes, emergency shelter is often more quickly and easily provided by the local community like friends, family and neighbours, or government or other local organisations.
Will ShelterBox's emergency shelter aid be culturally and contextually appropriate?
Will families need to stay where they were before the disaster to protect their land? Are families sharing space with other families in places like a community centre? ShelterBox will always ensure the aid we provide is appropriate for the cultures of families in need of support and the conditions they are living in.
Are families likely to be using their emergency aid for at least one month?
ShelterBox will carefully consider whether the need for emergency shelter might reduce. ShelterBox wants to focus on helping people who don't have any other options for emergency shelter or support, and prioritise those who are least able to support themselves.
5. Supporting the most vulnerable
Are there any marginalized or vulnerable groups that aren’t getting any help?
How are local agencies or communities able to help? Are other organisations or agencies already providing the support that is needed? To ensure that ShelterBox aid has the best possible effect, ShelterBox will only respond if other organisations, agencies, partners, or authorities are not already meeting the emergency shelter needs by the time we are able to give help.
Does ShelterBox have the resources needed for the duration of a response?
ShelterBox has limited resources and has to ensure that the response will give families the support they need. ShelterBox carefully considers the resources available and will only decide to respond to a disaster if they know they are able to see it through and achieve make a positive impact to the lives of the people affected.
7. Can ShelterBox safely respond?ShelterBox takes the safety of its teams, its partners, and its beneficiaries seriously. ShelterBox is experienced in working in lots of different and extreme situations around the world. ShelterBox works hard to understand the risks involved and the resources that will be needed to help local families and ensure that the response can be carried out safely.
8. Global Development Index Rating
What is the affected country’s index rating?
SheterBox will always work hard to prioritise and help the most vulnerable families in an emergency. To ensure that ShelterBox is helping those most in need when disasters happen across multiple countries, it uses additional criteria outlined by INFORM (Index for Risk Management) Global Risk Index and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s list of countries eligible for Official Development Assistance.
9. Positive impact
How quickly and efficiently can ShelterBox respond, and where will its support have the greatest impact for families?
ShelterBox will carefully consider how quickly and efficiently it can respond, and where its aid and support may be best suited for families affected by the disaster.
10. Other, ‘non-shelter’ aid items
Will ‘non-shelter’ items save lives?
Whilst emergency shelter is at the heart of ShelterBox, it also supports families with other essential items that can help provide a sense of normality for families living through disasters, such as water filters, blankets, and mosquito nets. ShelterBox will provide help support that doesn’t include shelter aid when it has the right items ready for the response and when it can make sure that these items will save lives.
[For More Information please go to https://www.shelterboxaustralia.org.au/]
Student Arrival and Departure
com.au/68-2019-20 and I have just made a donation without any dramas. Note you will be asked to give the name of our district – it is 9455 – I had to go looking for it!
