In total, donors to ShelterBox Canada sponsored (drum roll)  4000 ShelterBoxes! No, we have not made an error with the number of zeros on the end. Our office has processed four years' of work in the last 7 weeks!

It is truly remarkable and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your outpouring of love.    

There is still  a desperate need for shelter in Haiti and people will be succumbing to the elements, disease and lack of housing unless immediate aid is provided.  We can provide them with shelter, comfort, survival and some dignity back into their lives. The rainy season has already begun.

And now ShelterBox is responding to the stricken nation of Chile which has just experienced one of the largest seismic events ever recorded.

In the course of the last few weeks, we often had to explain to donors that it has always been our policy to not accept donations that are location specific. In the past some charities have found themselves with funds they are unable to use because they were restricted to a certain country. Unfortunately sometimes governments in disaster areas make decisions which preclude further aid, such as was the case in Sri Lanka recently when the government would not allow any more tents into the country.

We sometimes made the flippant observation in this regard that you never know what city is going to fall down next, and Concepcion, Chile is a perfect example of this. ShelterBox needs the flexibility to deploy resources according to verified needs and priorities identified by ShelterBox - wherever those disasters occur, and to acquire stock in readiness for the next disaster.  

Public donations are vital to ShelterBox's continuing work around the world. To make a donation please call 1 800 677 0990 or go to www.shelterbox.ca to donate on line. Go to www.shelterboxcanada.blogspot.com, and sign on as a follower.

Chile & Peru
An initial consignment of 448 ShelterBoxes is being sent to Chile in response to the massive earthquake that hit the country. ShelterBox is utilising all its global resources to respond as quickly as possible to this latest disaster. A Response Team (SRT) is currently en route to Chile's capital Santiago. On arrival the team will join up with local Rotarians and the Red Cross to establish where the greatest need for emergency shelter is.

They will be joined by 448 ShelterBoxes, enough aid for up to 4,480 people. The boxes are being sent from prepositioned stock in Melbourne, Australia. ShelterBox has a network of strategic locations around the globe where boxes are stored to allow a speedy response to any disaster wherever it may strike.

Head of Operations, John Leach, said: 'The full extent of the damage in Chile is yet to be seen but there'll undoubtedly be a need for emergency shelter.'

Meanwhile, the ShelterBox Response Team in Peru was on the scene immediately after a landslide struck the village of Taray leaving hundreds of families homeless. They had been distributing ShelterBoxes to people affected by flooding in the Cuzco and Puno regions.  They were working to the north of Cuzco in the Scared Valley when they heard the news of the landslide in Taray.

One of them, who is on her first deployment, said: 'There's been so much rain here and it's been falling really hard. There are so many houses which aren't safe. We heard about the landslide in Taray and immediately set about trying to get there. The road was blocked so we had to leave our vehicle, climb across rocks and travel the rest of the way with the army of Cuzco. It was a heck of a journey. When we reached the village we learned that eight people had died and 120 families had lost their homes. We were the first aid agency there and today (Wednesday, March 3) we've been setting up tents and delivering ShelterBoxes to all of them.'