SHORONKHOLA, Fla./EWORLDWIRE/Nov. 29, 2007 --- More food, access to clean water and shelter continue to be urgent priorities for survivors of the cyclone that hit Bangladesh two weeks ago, reports the disaster relief charity ShelterBox, which is supported by Rotary Clubs around the world. The international charity plans to send more aid this week and has issued an appeal to the public for donations for those who are still waiting desperately for help. The ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) has encountered major logistical problems - blocked roads, downed bridges and swamps everywhere, and the sheer scale of the disaster have significantly slowed the organized distribution progress. Thousands of families continue to huddle under makeshift shelters on the edges of roads and other patches of dry ground, with limited food aid only now reaching some devastated areas.
The aid operation is being led by the country's military. Bangladesh supplies a large proportion of the United Nation's peacekeeping forces, and while its soldiers are highly experienced at working in very difficult situations, the extent of the situation is stretching the nation's military to the limit.
The U.S. Department of Defense has responded to the request for assistance from the Bangladesh's government and is part of a larger United States response coordinated by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Until the recently embarked 22nd U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived, the international emergency relief organization ShelterBox was having difficulties getting disaster Box aid out of Dhaka into the cyclone-stricken area. Already working with the Bangladeshi military, ShelterBox relief workers report that rice is just now beginning to be distributed by the World Food Program, while well-meaning but misguided donations of clothes are reportedly useless and being used to ineffectively cover bamboo shelters. "The people here don't need clothes - they need food, water and shelter," reports Mark Pearson, U.K. SRT member.
ShelterBox specializes in providing emergency accommodation and other survival essentials to disaster victims. Aid is delivered in pre-packaged kits. Each ShelterBox is designed to help a family of 10 survive for at least six months in a disaster's aftermath.
So far, more than 600 ShelterBoxes have arrived in Bangladesh, each containing a 10-person tent, blankets, cooking utensils, water containers and other essentials. The international charity plans to send more aid this
week and is appealing for donations. U.S. donations can be directed to:
ShelterBox USA
Bradenton, FL
For more information or to give a donation call 941-747-8500 or visit 'http://www.shelterboxusa.org'.
Photo Credit:
US Marine Seaman Christopher Lange
Date 11282007
From 'http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php/t124538'
Contact:
Beth Palmer, Executive Director
941-747-8500 office or 941-400-5242 cell
bethp@shelterboxusa.org
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