Bloggers for Haiti

I'm joining up with the rest of the Mummy Blogging fraternity to write this blog for Haiti.

Growing up in an era of Live Aid, and the American singers rendition of 'We are the World", as well as the beginning of Comic Relief and all the comedy songs generated to raise money, I have always been aware, of suffering throughout the world- famine, wars, and natural disasters.

The latest of these Natural Disasters has been Haiti. The pictures that have emerged from it have been shocking- bodies literally left in the streets, buildings that were little more than shanties in the first place now twisted and flat, probably with their inhabitants lying beneath them.

For every person found alive, pulled into the light with baffled wide eyes, many thousands more are not so lucky.

So here in the UK, we can sit and watch news stories, we can read papers and reports and be shocked at the scenes.

EnglishMum has created the page in order for the Blogging community to be able to reach out in a practical way to help the people of Haiti.

She says:

"ShelterBox is such a unique organisation because what they provide is an entire rescue kit in a box. Each box contains:

• A ten-person tent with privacy partitions that allow its occupants to divide the space as they see fit.
• A range of other survival equipment including thermal blankets and insulated ground sheets, essential in areas where temperatures plummet at nightfall.
• Life-saving means of water purification. Water supplies often become contaminated after a major disaster, as infrastructure and sanitation systems are destroyed, this presents a secondary but no less dangerous threat to survivors than the initial disaster itself.
• A basic tool kit containing a hammer, axe, saw, trenching shovel, hoe head, pliers and wire cutters. These items enable people to improve their immediate environment, by chopping firewood or digging a latrine, for example. Then, when it is possible, to start repairing or rebuilding the home they were forced to leave.
• A wood burning or multi-fuel stove that can burn anything from diesel to old paint. This provides the heart of the new home where water is boiled, food is cooked and families congregate. In addition, there are pans, utensils, bowls, mugs and water storage containers.
• Each box can be adapted to the individual needs of the disaster area, for example, following the Javanese earthquake in 2006, when some resources were available locally or could be salvaged from one storey buildings, the overwhelming need was for shelter – so ShelterBox just sent tents, packing two in each box. The box itself is lightweight and waterproof and has been used for a variety of purposes in the past – from water and food storage containers to a cot for a newly born baby.
• And lastly, but I think just as importantly, each box contains a children’s pack containing drawing books, crayons and pens. For children who have lost most, if not all, of their possessions, these small gifts are treasured."

Each ShelterBox cost an average of £490, (which based on 6 month's use is a cost of 27p per day).

GO TO: http://www.justgiving.com/Bloggers-For-Haiti