A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Caribbean island of Haiti at close to 2200 GMT on Tuesday, January 12.

It was centred 10 miles to the south west of the islands capital, Port-au-Prince. The initial earthquake was followed by two aftershocks measuring 5.9 and 5.5 in magnitude. Initial reports stated that hundreds of people were feared dead and thousands more left homeless. We now realise that the true figures are more like two million people left homeless and some 212,000 dead or missing. The earthquake has been described as the worst to hit Haiti in centuries. The ShelterBox organisation responded in the initial weeks by sending some 7,000 boxes to the disaster struck Island supporting initially the beleaguered medical resources with tents used as medical wards and providing homes for pregnant women and homeless children.

ShelterBox camps have been erected in Porto-au Prince, and smaller camps in Delmas, Petion-Ville, Carrefour and Leogane, one of the worst affected areas. This has been done with the help of the Dutch marines, Rotarians, French aid agency ACTED and the French Red Cross.

The need in Haiti remains huge and with the imminent onset of heavy rains, the Haitian people are crying out for shelter which can stand up to the elements. What most people are sleeping under is cotton bed linen and sheeting which doesn’t provide any protection from the elements, just a little bit of shade. The intention is to replace as many of these as possible with ShelterBox tents. More boxes and tents are desperately required and your support for the ShelterBox Organisation should continue. Rotary in Ireland has so far responded to the disaster by donating over £100,000 and the total is rising by the day.

Donations to: Werner Scheel District Treasurer, 40 Waterfoot Park, Londonderry BT47 6SW

Story by: Sean Laverty