No-one can have avoided the stories and pictures of the catastrophic earthquake that has hit Haiti. Estimates of the numbers killed by the earthquake range from 50,000 to at least 200,000 and while food and water are finally reaching some parts of the capital Port-au-Prince, large numbers of survivors are still having to fend for themselves.
To try and help in some small way the blogging community has set up a Just Giving page to raise money to buy as many Shelter Boxes as they can to send to Haiti.
Each box contains a 10-person tent, thermal blankets, ground sheets, mosquito nets, water purification equipment, a tool kit and a wood-burning or multi-fuel stove. Each box also contains a children’s pack containing drawing books, crayons and pens. Plus 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.
The initial aim was to send one Shelter Box but thanks to the amazing generosity in the blogosphere they are already well on their way to having enough funds to send FIVE boxes already. So dig deep, count your blessings and donate as much (or as little) as you can to help the families of Haiti.
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Blogging for Haiti
It’s unimaginable, isn’t it? However, your ‘using the box as a cot’ line makes it feel all too real. We’ve linked to this too, figuring there can never be too many links. And what a great charity. 90% of money raised goes into creating and distributing the boxes (some charities spend up to half their revenue on marketing), so giving feels a very tangible way of helping.