For Immediate Release

BRADENTON, Fla./EWORLDWIRE/March 7, 2007 --- ShelterBox USA, the United States' national affiliate of the ShelterBox Trust, announced the routing of a relief shipment of 200 Boxes through Miami bound for northern Bolivia in response to the aftermath of the massive mudslides that affected over 340,000 people. The shipment was sent via British Virgin Airlines/ DHL from the ShelterBox distribution centre in Cornwall, U.K. Once in Santa Cruz, Bolivian Civil Defence will provide transport to the affected areas under the monitoring of local Rotary clubs. The shipment is also escorted by a U.K. ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) to ensure proper delivery.

Local rescue attempts in the gold-mining village of Chima have been hampered by heavy rain and poor road conditions. Approximately 40 percent of the village is buried in mud. The affected area lacks for basic services such as water and communications. Other villages are simply flooded out after months of heavy rain which have caused the worst floods in 35 years. Despite incoming aid, rescue operations are slow and poorly equipped to deal with reported conditions.

Begun in 2000 as a humanitarian project of a U.K. Rotary club, ShelterBox has grown to provide emergency shelter and tools/daily equipment to approximately half a million homeless disaster survivors worldwide. Sponsored individually and by community and school groups, ShelterBoxes cost $900US each, including worldwide transport. Specific donor Box acknowlegements are posted on the Web site along with the final disaster destination. Each Box is packed disaster-specific but always contains at least one insulated, 10-person tent. Other box items include emergency water purification equipment, tools, cooking/eating utensils and bedding.

The organization rapidly expanded after the Southeast Asia tsunami when over 13,000 Boxes were deployed. Recent natural disaster responses by ShelterBox include the Kashmir earthquake and Hurricane Katrina. Additional countries provided aid by ShelterBox in 2006 included Afghanistan, Ecuador, Lebanon and Romania. Refugee aid in Africa has been distributed by United Nations agencies working in Sudan, Somalia and Kenya via A Million in Africa, the organization's humanitarian initiative. (UN officials have requested over 15,000 ShelterBoxes to alleviate the shelter shortage in African refugee camps. Most recently ShelterBox also sent Box aid to Lady Mack and Paisley, Fla. in response to the series of destructive tornadoes there.)

The international grassroots relief organization recently doubled its original four country operation - U.K., U.S., Australia and Canada - by adding four additional national affiliates in 2007. Current recruitment efforts for development of ShelterBox Response Teams in the U.S. and Australia are expected to produce 50 trained volunteer responders in each country, as well as an additional 100 British recruits to the current available roster.

To get involved or learn more about the ShelterBox activities, visit 'http://www.shelterboxusa.org'.

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CONTACT:
Beth Palmer
Executive Director - ShelterBox USA
PHONE. 941-400-5242
941-400-5242 cell
941-747-8500 office
bethp@shelterboxusa.org

Bob Peiser
ShelterBox USA
PHONE. 941-993-0061

SOURCE: ShelterBox USA, Inc

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: International Disaster Relief Effort (size: 2.5 kb)
Each Box is packed disaster-specific but always contains at least one insulated, 10-person tent.
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