Fatima's Story
Seven-year-old Fatima’s family has been displaced many times because of the violence in Syria. She now lives in a camp with her mother Samira and her great-grandmother.
2,000,000 REASONS TO THANK YOU
Your Support Has Changed 2 Million Lives
Thanks to you – our family of supporters – ShelterBox has provided aid to 2,000,000 people across 100 countries!
While it took 15 years to help 1 million people, you have helped us reach our second million in the space of just 5 years. That’s two million people who have been able to recover after disaster and conflict, all thanks to YOU!
In 2000, ShelterBox began as a millennial project at the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard in the UK. It is only because of your support, and the support of Rotarians and Rotary Clubs around the world, that we’ve been able to grow into the global organization we are today. Thank you for ensuring no family is without shelter after disaster.
PEOPLE OF ACTION
Meet Ashish! A Rotaractor whose amazing support, knowledge, and dedication has helped to bring lasting change to communities in need across Nepal.
“My home club, The Rotaract Club of Kathmandu, helped ShelterBox support families affected by flooding in the far western region of Nepal. Later in 2008, when there was another flood in the country, I contacted ShelterBox HQ asking for help. ShelterBox sent a response team with 624 ShelterBoxes to the flood-affected victims.’
Thanks to our partnership with Rotary, we work with local Rotarians and Rotaractors on the ground. This allows us to help families faster and gives us local intel that ensures the most vulnerable families are receiving aid.
Ashish Chaulagain, looking inside a shelter using the tools, etc from ShelterBox.
In April 2015, when a massive earthquake shook Nepal to the core, Ashish was the first to notify ShelterBox! Ashish’s connections with ShelterBox continue today.
‘ShelterBox is an amazing organization to work with. I know of only a few organizations that push themselves beyond their boundaries to help people in need, and ShelterBox is one such organization.’
Ashish is the perfect example of the power of the partnership, and that by working together with Rotary, we can support even more communities in desperate need of shelter. Rotary Clubs around the world support ShelterBox with intel, extra hands on the ground, and donations and awareness. People of action around the world make ShelterBox possible!
Kapitapita's Story
One of the worst affected areas devastated by flash flooding made worse by Cyclone Idai in Malawi is a region called Chikwawa.
In Chikwawa alone, almost 36,000 people were displaced from their homes when flash floods ripped through the area.
Story of Home - Kunyumba
Six months ago Cyclone Idai hit southern Africa, washing away entire villages like Mwalija in Malawi.
Having lost everything after Cyclone Idai, Stephano and Mary were determined to rebuild their livelihoods. Their story is one of recovery.
Make an Impact
Whatever skills, knowledge or time you have to volunteer, you can play a vital part in this process. All we need is your passion.
Rotary Action Toolkit
As many Rotary club events and meetings are moving online, we want to provide opportunities for you to remain connected as a club, as a community, and globally as people of action.
Speaker Request
Bring ShelterBox to your event! Booking a ShelterBox speaker to give a talk is one of the most inspiring ways to hear about our work.
Safety for Kaltoumi's Family
When Kaltoumi smiles, it’s impossible not to smile with her. Despite her joyful demeanor, Kaltoumi has endured terrible violence that began when Boko Haram attacked her village in Nigeria.
While running away, I left everything behind. I lost everything when I escaped. […] That time seems so far away now. I didn’t know if I could handle that situation for long. I spent all my time working and I was tired of how we were living. I was tired of crying.”
Kaltoumi was determined she and her family would survive.“I dealt with the lack of food and the worrying health conditions of my children. I worked on people’s farms and earned a little bit of money to buy food for the family. A small piece of land was given to me for farming, so I tried to manage my time for both farms.”
Thanks to supporters like you, Kaltoumi was given two shelter kits, solar lamps, kitchen essentials, blankets, and a water filter.
With a roof over her family’s head, Kaltoumi can now make plans for the future. She hopes to set up her own business selling food so she can provide for her children.
Shelter after the Storm for Valentin
Raging storm
At 82 years old, Valentin Acra is the second oldest person in the island village of Binaly in the Philippines. He and his wife Mercedes were both born and raised in the village and have brought up five children there.
When Typhoon Melor approached the island during Christmas 2015, the couple were warned to seek the safety of higher ground and even to consider leaving altogether.
Because they had heard this warning many times before, and their little island had always escaped the worst of the storms, they decided to stay in their home. After a night of heavy rains, the wind blew so hard that the roof began to come apart.
They fled to the local primary school, where more than 400 people were crammed into the two concrete buildings as the storm raged overhead.
The strongest storm ever experienced
The category-4 typhoon caused catastrophic damage across several parts of the Philippines.
Wind reached speeds of almost 200 mph, while homes, crops and livelihoods were totally destroyed in many communities.
In Binaly, one of the first places to be hit, the storm persisted for four hours. It was the strongest storm that Mercedes and Valentin had ever experienced.
Nothing left
Miraculously, none of the villagers were hurt, but no home escaped damage. There was nothing left of Mercedes and Valentin’s home.
Mercedes was devastated, as they had no way of rebuilding their home. “What are we going to do? We are so old and we have no money.”
Tools, materials and skills
We provided the couple, and other families in the village, with a ShelterKit to help them rebuild their home. The kit was made up of locally sourced materials including a hammer, a saw, a shovel, and corrugated iron sheeting, which could be used as walls and roofing materials.
Along with materials, we showed the community different ways in which the materials could be used. Not just techniques to rebuild, but to build safer, more resilient shelters that would stand firm in the face of future storms.
Overjoyed
Receiving the ShelterKit completely changed the couple’s outlook. With the tools to start rebuilding, along with support from their community, they had hope for the future and Mercedes was overjoyed.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. ShelterBox was the answer to my prayers.”
JOIN US TODAY!
Each year more and more families lose their homes to disaster or conflict. In 2019 alone, 104 million people lost their homes.
Together, we are working to ensure no family is without shelter. But we can’t do it alone. We rely on our global partnership with Rotary International to get aid to the families who need it the most. And we rely on Rotarians like you to help us get it there.
Join us today by making a donation or by getting your club involved. Your support of ShelterBox means more families have a place to call home. More families have shelter, water, and the tools they need to rebuild their lives.
Will you join us today?