More from Shelterbox
Posted in General | By tim |
Found out we came 15th overall out of 34 teams of four. Pretty satisfied with that.
I felt I should write a little more about the charity Shelterbox. We did this event because it was a challenge – and the four of us wanted that. We raised over £1100 for Shelterbox but honestly I didn’t know much about what they did. Part of taking part meant we found out a lot more about the charity and can now help raise awareness for it.
I’ve never really felt much affinity for any charity before. I’m lucky enough not to have needed one, I guess. But what Shelterbox does appeals to me in a number of ways.
Firstly, they focus on disaster aid. There are larger, better, more significant charities like Oxfam, the Red Cross and UNICEF which focus on longer-term economic aid and economic development in countries which are having a hard time. I guess Shelterbox succeeds because it ignores that and focusses instead on an area which the larger charities perhaps don’t have sewn up – getting critical aid to people who need it fast.
The key is having a large stock of boxes available to be distributed at short notice and being small and nimble enough to take those boxes to the people who need them within 1 or 2 days of a disaster.
Shelterboxes contain enough stuff for 10 people to survive for 6 months should they find themselves without shelter. That’s a tent, sleeping bags, cooking stove, pots and pans, tools, water carriers, water purification, mosquito nets, rope, groundsheets. We’re assuming there is a food source available locally. Even when the disaster is over the items have a residual value – they can be sold on to help others. Even the box itself is valuable.
The SRT or “Shelterbox Response Team” is a set of individuals, volunteers mostly, who train to be sent at short notice on a mission for two weeks into a disaster zone to distribute the boxes. They need to operate self-sufficiently (not burdening the already scarce resources at the disaster zone) and to enable the logistics to get the boxes distributed to those who need them. It’s quite something to think that you could be trained to do that and be phoned up one day and sent around the world on a mission.
The main thing which struck me about Shelterbox was that it was positive. It has a good narrow focus on an objective which can really make a difference. The task itself is simple: distribute boxes quickly. And it takes a positive person to do that effectively. I liked the idea and the execution. Maybe I should volunteer.
The other thing worth mentioning is that the event was run by EnduranceLife – a really interesting company which hosts such events for others (like charities or sponsors). They do outdoor endurance races and all manner of different challenges with different aims. The scope is incredible and the effort they must put in to do this amazing. But what a great way to earn a living. Very cool job.
Few more pictures from the crazy event…
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