8th Marine Brigade links with ShelterBox

CEBU, Philippines - Seeing the vulnerability of the Visayas areas to disasters, the 8th Marine Brigade Reserve, Philippine Marine Corps based in Looc, Lapu-Lapu City is now working with international organization, ShelterBox, in providing humanitarian aid and relief to victims.

The 8th Marine Brigade Reserve is identified by the organization to be their partner in determining the most need in coordination with the local governments. 

The brigade hopes to be the area representative for the Visayas after the Department of Social Welfare and Development entrusted to them 100 sets of large tents, said Lt. Tito Ranara, PN (M) (Res), Administrative Officer of the 8th Marine Brigade Reserve.

The 8th Marine Brigade Reserve has been actively involved with disaster response and rescue units particularly in Metro Cebu.

Ranara said that more equipment are scheduled to be acquired including rubber boats, stretchers, first aid kits, spine boards as well as water and cargo trailers. 

In the next few months, Ranara said they envision the acquisition of the ShelterBox units which will hopefully be donated to them from the international community.

Once acquired, Ranara said the units will be coordinating with the local government units in augmenting these to calamity stricken areas.

Trained ShelterBox Response Teams can be deployed anywhere to distribute boxes on the ground, working closely with local organizations, international aid agencies, and Rotary clubs.

There are over 500 pre-positioned ShelterBoxes in Clark City ready to be flown by the Philippine Air Force if needed, to affected areas during disasters.

ShelterBox is a disaster relief organization that provides shelter and life-saving equipment to disaster survivors worldwide and is a registered UK charity operated by the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard and based in Cornwall.

It is also supported by ShelterBox organizations set up by Rotary clubs in a number of other countries, including the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France and Southeast Asia.

Each ShelterBox is a large, rugged, green plastic container that holds a 10-person tent and a range of other equipment.

In general, typical box contents could include thermal blankets and insulated ground sheets; waterproof ponchos and bean bags; a multi-fuel stove that can burn anything from diesel to old paint; cooking pans, utensils, bowls and mugs; collapsible water containers and water purification tablets; a basic tool kit – hammer, axe, saw, pliers, hoe head, trenching shovel, rope and others; and a small, children’s pack containing drawing books, crayons, pens and others.

Each box is 570mm wide by 842mm long by 602mm deep, giving a capacity of 185 liters. Fully packed, a box weighs between 50 to 60 kg.

Each ShelterBox costs $868 on average.

In 1999, UK Rotarian and former Royal Navy search and rescue diver Tom Henderson spotted a gap in aid provision after natural disasters.

While food and medicine were immediately delivered, little or no assistance was given in terms of proper shelter to help survivors through the first few days, weeks and months as they struggled to rebuild their lives.

ShelterBox was launched to fill that gap. (FREEMAN)