Haiti victims wait for food and aid - Press Association

Troops, doctors and aid workers are now flowing into Haiti but hundreds of thousands of quake victims are still struggling to find water or food.

Help is not reaching many victims of Tuesday's quake, choked back by transport bottlenecks, bureaucratic confusion, fear of attacks on aid convoys, the collapse of local authority and the sheer scale of the need.

"We don't need military aid. What we need is food and shelter," one man yelled at UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during his visit to Port-au-Prince. "We are dying," a woman told him.

Haitian riot police meanwhile fired tear gas to disperse crowds of looters in the city centre as nearby shops burned.

Looting spread as hundreds of young men and boys clambered up broken walls to break into shops and take whatever they could find. Especially prized was toothpaste, which people smear under their noses to fend off the stench of decaying bodies.

The US ambassador to Haiti, Kenneth Merten, acknowledged that "the security situation is obviously not perfect," but said new troops scheduled to arrive during the day were meant to back up Haitian police and UN personnel, not replace them.

The Pan American Health Organisation estimates 50,000 to 100,000 died in Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude quake and Haitian officials believe the number is higher. Many survivors have lost their homes and many live outside for fear unstable buildings could collapse in aftershocks.

So many people have lost homes that the World Food Programme is planning a tent camp for 100,000 people on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.

Five days after the quake struck more survivors were freed from under piles of concrete and debris. Teams with search dogs rescued a 16-year-old Dominican girl trapped for five days in a three-storey hotel that crumbled in central Port-au-Prince.

At the UN headquarters destroyed in the quake, rescuers lifted a Danish staff member alive from the ruins, just 15 minutes after Secretary-General Ban visited the site where UN mission chief Hedi Annabi and at least 39 other staff members were killed.

1,700 boxes on the way....

and a further 1,600 will leave from the UK this week directly for Port au Prince, Haiti. Warehouse volunteers in the UK have worked tirelessly packing the boxes. This is a total of 3,300 boxes with more to follow.

The ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) on the ground is continuing its work with ACTED and local Rotarians in order to ensure the fastest and most effective distribution of aid.

David Eby (US), Wayne Robinson (US) and Mark Pearson (UK), who have been in Port au Prince since Thursday, have commenced training sessions with their contacts on the ground to help them deliver and distribute the ShelterBoxes.

While there has been no confirmation of ShelterBoxes arriving in Port au Prince logistics teams in the UK, the ShelterBox Logistics team in Miami and the SRT in Haiti are doing everything within their power to ensure the boxes reach Haiti as quickly as possible.

you can donate on the homepage of www.runwildrunfree.co.uk and we will accmulate all donations to purchase one or two boxes. Many thanks. Ian

Donation Update

Your response to my request for a donation to fund a 'shelterbox' to do 'our bit' and help those in need has been superb. We already have £375 in the fund... another £125 and we can send a box! As I am sure you are aware, the situation is becoming increasingly difficult. Already over 70,000 have been buried in mass graves. I sit at home and try to imagine 70,000... I just can't. The problem is, this is the tip of the iceberg.

Numbers are escalating daily. This is why aid is so important. Those that have survived the earth quake now need our support to help provide shelter, food, medical help and a means to purify water. This is why shelterbox is such a perfect solution. Each box provides help for 10 people.

I realize many of you may have very well have already made a donation independently. However, if you have not already done so, please consider donating here. Your help will save a life!

Shelterbox update

£150 donated already to the runwildrunfree appeal. Another £350 and WE can do our bit to help those in need in Haiti. Go to www.runwildrunfree.co.uk homepage and 'click' on the shelterbox logo to donate. Your help is really appreciated.

More than 200 ShelterBoxes are set to arrive in Port au Prince, Haiti later today.

256 ShelterBoxes that were dispatched from the prepositioned stock in Curacoa on Wednesday are due to touch down in Haiti late this afternoon, Haitian time, providing the plane they are on is cleared to land. However, the situation in Port au Prince is extremely fluid and logistics are changing minute by minute.

ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) members David Eby (US), Wayne Robinson (US) and Mark Pearson (UK) have been in Port au Prince since Thursday and have been working around the clock assessing the most effective ways to distribute the much needed aid.

The Response Team says the situation on the ground is frantic but there doing all they can to make sure they deliver aid into Port au Prince as quickly as they can.

Lets help Haiti

We all have so much to be thankful for, we don't always realize it. However, when disaster hits we can really appreciate what we do have. Even going for a run is a luxury....

With the Haiti disaster many pleas have gone out for money. I am always a little negative when these are broadcast as I always wonder if the money goes to the correct place.

Let's all help by making a donation to purchase our own shelterbox!! A box costs £460. I am prepared to handle the logistics and maybe you can donate to my Paypal account (iancorless@mac.com) - mark your donation 'shelterbox' and I will purchase a box via the shelterbox website in the name - 'runwildrunfree'. If each client donates £25, we will soon have a box to send and start helping those in need.

Shelterbox are providing 'boxes' that include:

Shelter

At the heart of every ShelterBox is a ten-person tent. It is custom made for ShelterBox by Vango, one of the world’s leading tent manufacturers, and is designed to withstand extreme temperatures, high winds and heavy rainfall. Internally, each tent has privacy partitions that allow recipients to divide the space as they see fit.

A smile

Every box contains a children’s pack containing drawing books, crayons and pens. For children who have lostmost, if not all,their possessions, these small gifts are treasured.

Warmth and protection

In addition to the tent, the boxes contain a range of other survival equipment including thermal blankets and insulated ground sheets, essential in areas where temperatures plummet at nightfall. Where malaria is prevalent mosquito nets are supplied, as well a 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.

Self sufficiency

A basic tool kit containing a hammer, axe, saw, trenching shovel, hoe head, pliers and wire cutters can be found in every box. 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.

Fit for purpose

Every item is durable, practical and brand new. 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.

A heart to the home

A key piece in every box is either 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.

Adaptability

We keep a broad range of equipment in stock so we can adapt the contents of a box to a specific disaster. For example, following the Javanese earthquake in 2006, when some resources were available locally or could be salvaged fromone storey buildings, the overwhelming need was for shelter – so we just sent tents, packing two in each box.