Helston Charity Helps Vulnerable Refugees

You've probably already heard about the famine in Africa, the worst to strike in twenty years. Thousands of families have been displaced as a result.  Now, Helston based charity ShelterBox has committed enough aid to provide emergency shelter for 2,000 families in Kenya and a further 1,600 ShelterBoxes are en route to Ethiopia in what is likely to be a long-term humanitarian response.

According to OCHA (Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) there are more than 11 million people in need of humanitarian assistance throughout the Horn of Africa. Large numbers of refugees continue to flee from Somalia into neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia as the famine and drought worsens.

This week a ShelterBox team visited the Dadaab refugee camp, 100 kilometers from the Kenya-Somalia border, with the UN to assess the need for ShelterBox aid. Speaking en route, ShelterBox aid worker Ingrid Criddle, said: "There's an overwhelming need throughout the region and our number one priority is to deliver emergency shelter to the most vulnerable groups."

The refugee camps in Dadaab were originally designed to accommodate up to 90,000 refugees but according to the latest figures there are now close to 400,000 people living in and around the three camps. OCHA states that as of July 24 there were 28,000 refugees residing outside the camps and awaiting registration.

A simultaneous response is also ongoing in the Dolo Ado region of Ethiopia where a ShelterBox team have been working with Save the Children and other agencies to provide shelter for some of the most vulnerable refugees – orphans and their foster families.

Tim Bunting, ShelterBox UK General Manager said: "It's thanks to our supporters and donors, many of them in the south west, that we are able to be working in the region getting aid to the people who need it most. The disaster may have dropped from the headlines but the need is very much still there."

Public donations are vital to ShelterBox's continuing work. To make a donation you can call 0300 0300 500 or go to www.shelterbox.org to donate online and get the latest updates on the charity's response to disasters around the world.