First ShelterBox tents set up in Brazil after floods

Families in Brazil are now in secure shelter for the first time since losing their homes in unprecedented flooding but there is still a 'crying need' for emergency shelter. 



200 ShelterBoxes arrived in Recife, Brazil on Sunday, July 4 and have now been distributed in the town of Barreiros in the state of Pernambuco. Families who have had no shelter since their homes were destroyed in the flooding are now living in ShelterBox tents.



ShelterBox Response Team members Pat Prendergast (UK), Phil Duloy (UK), Tom Lay (UK), Jodie Hurt (UK) and John Cordell (US) are working with local Rotarians and state officials to ensure the most effective distribution of the ShelterBoxes.



Speaking from Barreiros, Pat Prendergast said: ‘Yesterday we set up two camps, one of 169 tents and a second, on higher ground, of 31 tents. We’ve been working with the local authorities who have set up electricity, toilet blocks and access to fresh water.



‘There’s still people sleeping on the streets and there’s an absolute crying need for shelter, more so than anything else. As far as we’re aware, we’re the only aid organisation active in the area.’

Posted 6th Jul 2010  by member ShelterBox