ShelterBox, the emergency box scheme founded and supported by Rotary clubs, has been providing essential aid to the thousands of people left homeless and destitute by last week’s earthquake in central Italy.
As soon as reports came through of the tragic earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, striking central Italy as residents slept in the early hours of 6 April, UK disaster relief charity ShelterBox mobilised its volunteers and staff to get aid to the devastated region.
At least 90 people are believed to have been killed in the earthquake 95km (60 miles) north-east of Rome. As many as 50,000 people are feared to have been made homeless in the area epicentre L’Aquila.
With initial reports indicating that more than 17,000 people have been left homeless, ShelterBox responded quickly and within 12 hours of the earthquake striking the charity had a representative on the ground in Italy.
Volunteer ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) members Nicola Jones and Andrew Biss arrived in the village of Assergi, 15km from the epicentre of the earthquake L’Aquila, with enough shelter for 400 people.
As the team arrived, there was thick frost on the ground and at first they couldn’t see any of the villagers. It was only as people started stirring they realised that the 200 inhabitants of the village were all sleeping in their cars.
Aid is slow to reach these outlying villages as the major efforts are focussed on L’Aqulia itself and when the ShelterBox team arrived no support had reached the village at all.
The team have been working alongside the villagers to clear areas of rubble so that tents could be pitched to protect villagers from the sub zero temperatures that come at nightfall. The younger men and women of the village help with the heavy lifting while the elders provide food and hot drinks for the community and look after the younger children.
As well as setting up the camp, some tents were taken directly to people’s houses to accommodate those who were too frail to get to the camp area. At one house an 84 year old man, who was bedridden, had slept out under a makeshift shelter in his garden since the earthquake struck.
Nicola Jones, ShelterBox Response Team member, said: “The community are working together to support each other but there is an underlying tension as the risk of the aftershocks hangs over people. It could still be some time before the residents are able to safely return to their homes. As yet no assessors have reached the village and it may be some weeks before anyone can confirm that their homes are safe; until then they will be sleeping in ShelterBox tents.
“I spoke to one lady who had tears in her eyes when she found out that we had driven all the way from Britain– like most of the residents she had a mixture of emotion and determination to cope with the situation in which they have found themselves.”
Shelter for a further 2,000 people is currently being sent out to affected areas. Each ShelterBox contains a 10-person tent, blankets, water purification and cooking equipment, basic tools, a stove and other essential equipment.
Every ShelterBox is individually numbered and can be tracked by donors. The Rotary Club of Gainsborough was one of the clubs who funded a box which is going to provide critical aid to the displaced in Italy. Club Secretary Andrew Macdonald said that he was really pleased that the club’s donations had gone to support those left homeless by the disaster.
ShelterBox spokesperson Lasse Patterson said: “It is only with the support of Rotary clubs in the UK and around the globe that we have been able to respond so quickly to this disaster. We are grateful for your ongoing support and hope that you will pass our thanks on to your club members.”
To donate to ShelterBox or find out more about their work visit www.shelterbox.org.
11/04/09
