The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Helping rebuild lives after disaster
Thanks to an incredible partnership with ShelterBox, Rotarians have helped over 1.5 million people rebuild lives devastated by natural or man made disasters.
The conflict in Syria dates back to March 2011 when a peaceful demonstration was met by swift government opposition, leading to a brutal war. Today, the conflict is complex and violent, reports of war crimes widespread, the people of Syria left trapped and repeatedly uprooted by violence. Increased violence in the province of Idlib means more than 900,000 people have fled since December – families, fleeing from unimaginable danger, squeezed into a smaller and smaller area.
As the conflict approaches its ninth year, millions remain displaced, unsure if they will ever be able to return home, their future hanging in the balance. Civilians paying the price.
Children are no longer safe; one in four schools damaged or destroyed. Over half of Syria’s hospitals no longer function, and millions of hectares of farmland have been destroyed or abandoned. Increased aerial bombardments and ground offensives in Idlib have killed or seriously injured innocent people. New refugees are sharing old, abandoned or damaged tents.
Heavy rain has brought flooding; leaking tents battered by the elements.
ShelterBox, working with ReliefAid, is providing shelter for thousands of families this winter.
With extreme heat in the summer and freezing temperatures in the winter, aid is designed to withstand environmental extremes.
When traumatised families are far from home, having a safe place to call home is invaluable. Shelterbox aims to help vulnerable people not reached by other humanitarian organisations.
More than 250,000 people have already received ShelterBox aid since December 2012 - the largest, most sustained response in our history.
Meet Farid. He was looking forward to starting his postgraduate studies in Aleppo, Syria. When the bloody war erupted in his country, he was faced with a tough dilemma - to flee the violence, or stay and help fellow Syrians? He decided to stay and work with ReliefAid, to distribute aid. In six years, Farid has often come face-to-face with the harsh realities of war and the devastation affecting thousands of innocent people. His friend was killed by an exploding barrel bomb released by a helicopter flying over the city. Farid says: “We have been able to preserve life by giving people equipment to purify water to drink. We also deliver clothing to vulnerable communities, especially children. Solar lamps allow children to do their homework.”
And Farid’s hopes for the future? To see his family again, finish his Master’s degree, get married and create a family. The simple things in life we take for granted.
www.shelterbox.org