The drought affecting the Eastern Horn of Africa
is the worst the region has seen in 60 years. Millions of families have been
affected by massive water and food shortages. The drought and ongoing conflict
in Somalia is causing families to flee their homes, with thousands arriving at
refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia every day.
The need for shelter is massive and ShelterBox
is responding to help the most vulnerable.
ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) member Mike
Greenslade, spoke from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. "The people fleeing the
famine have only what they can carry and the need for emergency shelter is
enormous. Plans and logistics are in place to move aid quickly to the worst
affected areas".
Children are particularly vulnerable to the
famine. In Ethiopia, ShelterBox is working in partnership with Save the Children
to provide shelter for refugee families fostering orphans and unaccompanied
minors.
Canadian SRT member Dave Hallett from Kingston,
Ontario is on his way to Ethiopia to join the relief effort.
ShelterBox is working closely with the UNHCR
(United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) in Kenya. The refugee camps in
Dadaab, 100 km from the Kenya-Somalia border, were originally designed to
accommodate 90,000 refugees but latest figures indicate that close to 400,000
people are living in and around the camps.
To date, ShelterBox has committed emergency
shelter and lifesaving supplies for up to 3,600 families in Kenya and Ethiopia
and stands ready to continue helping those in greatest need.
