NZ ShelterBox relief efforts continue in the Philippines

8th February 2013

NZ ShelterBox relief efforts continue in the Philippines.

International disaster relief organisation, ShelterBox, is still working in the Philippines after Typhoon Bopha carved through the southern islands, leaving hundreds dead and thousands homeless.

ShelterBox SRT Arnold Kelly from New Zealand and Liz Odell from the UK, have recently arrived in the Philippines to join colleagues working with homeless families along the isolated picturesque eastern coastal regions of Cateel and Baganga, by providing emergency shelter and other forms of aid to those families who live in some of the islands’ hardest-hit regions.

ShelterBox responds immediately to disasters such as earthquake, volcano, flood, hurricane, cyclone, tsunami or conflict, by delivering boxes of aid. Each box includes a disaster relief tent, water purification kit, cook-stoves, blankets and other supplies that help families survive and rebuild their lives in the days, weeks or months following disaster.

Typhoon Bopha, known locally as Pablo, made landfall on the South Filipino Island late at night on 4th December 2012. 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.

The typhoon struck northern Palawan with winds of 120 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 150 kilometres per hour. Coastal, farming and mining regions were all affected by the typhoon and ShelterBoxes are still being distributed on a micro level in Compostela

Many regions remain isolated due to power outages, lack of communications and damaged roads and bridges. Thousands of people are reported as still being in need of temporary shelter having lost their homes to the typhoon.

At this time ShelterBox is also responding to the Syrian refugee crisis in Iraq Kurdistan, Jordon, and flooding in Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda.

ENDS

NOTE TO EDITORS:

SHELTERBOX

In the aftermath of the dust and debris of disaster, ShelterBox instantly responds by providing shelter, warmth and dignity to people displaced or made homeless by disaster. The ShelterBox solution provides the essentials that a family needs to survive and begin rebuilding their lives.

1. ShelterBox is an international disaster relief charity that provides humanitarian aid to families who have been made homeless or displaced through disasters.

2. ShelterBox was founded in 2000 and has affiliates in 21 countries around the world.

3. ShelterBox is a ‘Rotary Project Partner’ of Rotary International.

4. ShelterBox is funded entirely by public donations.

5. Every ShelterBox is individually numbered and donors who donate a ShelterBox are advised of their identification number when they are sent a receipt. The final destination of boxes can then be tracked via our website.

6. NZ SRTs are available for interview

7. Photo’s from NZ deployments can be seen here: http://bit.ly/10XeqUX

To find out more, visit: www.shelterbox.org.nz.

The donation hotline is at: www.givealittle.co.nz/org/shelterbox

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