is the next installment of the ShelterBox diaries, started by TexMex, a place for those who want to donate to the ShelterBox effort, helping out in Pakistan, Haiti, Chile, Peru, Fiji, Uganda, China, Guatamala, and Brazil too. So far the DKos community has contributed over $139,000, enough to purchase 139 ShelterBoxes, providing quality shelter, with privacy and dignity, to 1390 people. We are now working on #140. Here is the donation link where you can help out, and other links to give you more information and a sense of the good that ShelterBox is doing. Report your donation in the comments and we will count it toward the DKos total.
Secure donation page
ShelterBox home page
ShelterBoxUSA page
ShelterBox in Canada page
To find out more about ShelterBox, and how you can help, follow along below.
These diaries now are being posted only once a week, on Friday (usually morning), rather than daily. (There may be occasional postings in between) We will continue to monitor the latest diary for donations in between those days.
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Update on ShelterBox efforts in Pakistan:
ShelterBox are sending 5,000 water filtration units and 2,500 water carriers to Pakistan in response to the need for clean water.
The LifeStraws and water carriers are being flown out this week and will join the 1,900 ShelterBox tents already deployed in the country and the 624 ShelterBoxes which are on their way to Pakistan.
A family-sized water filtration unit or LifeStraw can filter a minimum of 18,000 litres of water – providing safe and potentially life-saving drinking water for displaced families.
Jessica Stanton, ShelterBox Operations Coordinator, said: ‘Children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable without clean drinking water and there has been a reported significant increase in diarrhea, dysentery and other diseases with a cholera epidemic the worst case scenario. This is an immediate and critical need so we’re sending a consignment of LifeStraws to Pakistan.
‘LifeStraws make dirty water safe to drink. They are an essential bit of kit that we normally put in ShelterBox packs and they will make a huge difference to those affected by the flooding. We plan to send many more as soon as possible as the health risks from drinking dirty water are so huge.’
Latest reports are that the floods have affected a tenth of Pakistan's 170 million people. Two million people are reported to be homeless and 6 million people need aid in the form of food, water and medicine.
Since the disaster hit ShelterBox has deployed 1,900 tents, many within 48 hours, and more than 600 ShelterBoxes.
Full story here, with a more recent update here.
As we are hearing, Pakistan is now in desperate need of our help. At the same time, over 22,000 ShelterBoxes have been sent to Haiti, and ShelterBox continues their work in Haiti. Over the past months, boxes have also been sent to Chile, Fiji, China, Uganda, Guatamala, Peru, and Brazil. Supplies must be replenished to be able to continue to respond to disasters in Pakistan and around the world. ShelterBox tents are among the few that are actually tested to withstand strong winds and heavy rains (see more info below).
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Storm testing a ShelterBox tent:
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How can you help? We want to make this easy so here's what you do (h/t Bugsby):
- Use one of the links at the top of this diary to get to a donation page. For on-line donations, there are two places to acknowledge Daily Kos: the "In Honor of" section, or the Comments box further down. You can do either or both.
- Once your donation has been made, come back here and post a comment at the bottom of the thread so we can add the donation to the Daily Kos total. Please put the dollar amount in the subject line to help us find it easier. That way we can give you mojo for your gift and confirm any matching funds. ;)
- People who don't want to report publicly, or who don't have a Daily Kos account (hi, lurkers!), can always email TexMex, or carolina stargazer, who will then report the amounts for them (anonymously if desired.) To find those email addresses click the user name in orange anywhere in the diary, or in the user profile.
Now suppose you've got some money you'd like to offer as an incentive to bring in donations. Here's how that's done:
- Scroll down to the bottom of the comments.
- Post a comment about your intentions. Use the subject line stating how much you have available in matching funds.
- State the terms of your match. For instance, if you have $50 which you'd like to use to encourage small donors to participate, you might say you'll match gifts between $5 and $10 up to a total of $50.
- Check back and read the comments following your offer, to see if you've had any takers. The nice folks monitoring this diary will help you keep track. Once your $50 is fully matched, then you follow the link to ShelterBox and donate your 50 bucks.
Additional info about saving on receipt letters (h/t ybruti):
A donor can decline an expensive letter of receipt because first class postage and lovely stationery takes a big bite out of a small donation. People can write a note in the comment box saying an email receipt is sufficient, or send the organization an email to that effect. Then Shelterbox will mark the account "DO NOT MAIL".
In my case, I was told:
We are able to mark your account in the data base "do not mail" and I have done that on your account for any future donations you make to our organization.
And finally, a note from ShelterBox to make all donors aware of this:
by the way, if you could post to the dailykos folks that we cannot take disaster specific donations. While our response to Pakistan will likely eat up our reserve donation of boxes and many of the new donations will go to Pakistan, we cannot guarantee that. The donation form has "We cannot take disaster specific donations" on it so when someone types in the memo "Pakistan", we have to call each person to ask if it would be ok if we could use it for Pakistan or another disaster. Most are good with that but some rescind their donation. If you could post something you'd be a huge help!
I hope this won't dissuade anyone from donating, but just want to make sure everyone understands how they work.
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What's in a ShelterBox?
Each “ShelterBox” supplies an extended family of up to 10 people with a tent and lifesaving equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless. The contents are tailored depending on the nature and location of the disaster, with great care taken sourcing every item to ensure it is robust enough to be of lasting value. Highly trained ShelterBox Response Teams distribute boxes on the ground, working closely with local organizations, international aid agencies and Rotary clubs worldwide.
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Here is a video about the history and 10th anniversary of the founding of ShelterBox:
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A ShelterBox tent camp in the Punjab province of Pakistan:
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ShelterBox helping families in Pakistan:
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ShelterBox in Pakistan:
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A new Pakistan disaster diary series has been started. The Friday posting is here. The ongoing Haiti diary series continues, with lot of useful information and always new updates, as well as many excellent resource links and action info. Sunday's book diary was posted by allie123.
Note that while the problems have been largely ignored by much of the MSM, they still exist, and many people still need help. If you are able to help, please consider doing so. There will continue to be many needs over the next weeks and months, so you may also want to consider donating to other organizations as well. Even if you are unable to contribute at this time, please spread the word to others, and leave a comment to express your support.
Thanks.
