ShelterBox

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ShelterBox (from English shelter = refuge) is an international organization in disaster relief , with German representation in Berlin . In disaster relief, ShelterBox focuses particularly on the area of ​​"protection and shelter". Since the organization was founded in 2000, ShelterBox has been deployed in over 95 countries and provided first aid to more than 1.25 million people by 2018.

target

For ShelterBox, shelter is a human right. A study published by ShelterBox in 2017 shows that only 20% of all vulnerable people receive the help they need. ShelterBox wants to change this and has set itself the goal of providing one million people a year with relief supplies by 2025. The relief supplies are supposed to give people more than just protection and shelter. They are designed to give them a sense of security and to help them recover from the disaster.

ShelterBox relief supplies

  • Tents, including family tents, UN standard tents and winter tents depending on the area of ​​use
  • Thermal blankets (depending on the climatic zone of the area of ​​use)
  • Sleeping mats and mattresses
  • Water canister with a capacity of approx. 10 liters
  • Water filter
  • LuminAid solar lamp
  • Tools: saw, hammer, pliers, ax, screwdriver, folding spade etc.
  • Kitchen utensils for five people: pots, plates, bowls, mugs, cutlery
  • Mosquito nets
  • Childrens Activity Pack with blocks, colored pencils, coloring books etc.

Volunteering

Until 2014, ShelterBox's activities were based on purely voluntary work. Since then there have also been full-time structures, as many administrative activities would no longer be possible without full-time cooperation due to the growth of the organization. The office with two full-time employees is located in Berlin. A large part of the activities is still based on voluntary work. ShelterBox works with “ambassadors” all over Germany who give lectures for Rotary clubs, associations and organizations or report on ShelterBox at public events at an information desk.

There is also the so-called ShelterBox Response Team (SRT), which consists partly of voluntary and partly of full-time helpers. You travel to disaster areas, evaluate the situation in order to select the right relief supplies and then take care of the logistical processes and the subsequent distribution of the relief supplies. Members of the SheltereBox Response Team are specially trained for disaster situations.

financing

ShelterBox works exclusively with donations. The project initiated by Rotary International is also strongly supported by Rotary in Germany. Many Rotaract members get involved on a voluntary basis and help make ShelterBox better known throughout Germany. To finance a tent that can accommodate up to 10 people, 350 euros are required. The ShelterKits, with which collapsed houses can be repaired and new accommodation can be built, cost 78 euros. ShelterBox Germany e. V. forwards 75% of all donations received to the headquarters in Great Britain. According to the association, these funds are invested directly in relief supplies and do not cover any additional administrative costs in Great Britain. The remaining 25% will be used for fundraising and administrative costs in Germany.

logistics

ShelterBox relief supplies are located in central logistics centers used by many aid organizations around the world. In addition, ShelterBox Operations Philippines opened in 2018, an operational location where aid supplies are stored and from where they can be sent directly to the affected areas of the Philippines. Due to its geographical location, the Philippines are particularly affected by cyclones and earthquakes, which is why ShelterBox has been in use in the Philippines on average twice a year since 2004.

Areas of application

The first delivery of 143 boxes was made in January 2001 to those affected by the earthquake in the Indian state of Gujarat . In the following three years the project matured and by the end of 2004 almost 2,600 boxes had been distributed after 16 major disasters. After the tsunami on December 26, 2004 in the Indian Ocean, aid was increased significantly. In 2005 more than 22,000 boxes were sent, almost ten times as many as in the previous three years.

In 2018 ShelterBox was in use in 17 countries. Out of a total of 18 missions this year, ten were in response to natural disasters and eight were in response to conflicts. Thus, more than 210,000 people were helped in 2018.

history

ShelterBox was founded by Tom Henderson, a Rotarian and former British Navy rescue diver . He saw that aid was given in the form of food and medicine for most disasters, but there was no assistance when it came to finding their own shelter for people to spend the first days, weeks, and months while they tried to rebuild their lives.

In 1999, Tom Henderson began pondering the idea of ​​choosing equipment and doing some persuasion to get the project off the ground. His perseverance paid off in April 2000 when ShelterBox was founded and accepted as a Millennium Project by the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard in Cornwall . Little did they know then that it would be the largest Rotary club project in the world, with offices in eight countries.

History in Germany

In 2005, Clemens Witt brought the idea of ​​the survival boxes to Germany and made the box into the national social campaign of Rotaract Germany . In 2013 the ShelterBox Germany e. V. emerged. Since then, Clemens Witt has been the association's chairman. Alexander-André Lau is responsible for finances on the board. At the beginning of 2009 the first “ambassador training” took place. Here interested parties were informed about the survival box and trained for lectures. Since then, ambassador training has taken place two to three times a year all over Germany. At the moment, around 50 people in Germany work on a voluntary basis for the organization.

Web links

Commons : ShelterBox  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Recovery starts with shelter; ShelterBox, 2018.
  2. ↑ ShelterBox Annual Report 2018
  3. ↑ ShelterBox Annual Report 2018
  4. ↑ ShelterBox; https://www.shelterboxusa.org/home-page/news/philippines/shelterbox-operations-philippines/ , accessed on May 9, 2019.