25 Years of ShelterBox

2025 marks 25 years of ShelterBox providing emergency shelter to more than 3 million people in over 100 countries, spanning Asia, Africa, South America, Oceania, Europe, and North America. They have responded to earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and conflicts – that’s more than 300 people every day! Powered by the transformational impact of Rotary worldwide they have helped people rebuild their lives with practical tools, right up to their most recent operations in Ukraine, Northern Syria, Türkiye and Gaza.

ShelterBox are incredibly grateful for the generosity and commitment of Rotary clubs in Great Britain and Ireland which they note is more critical than ever as it is predicted in the next 25 years 1.2 billion people will be at risk of losing their homes to disaster - that is around 1 in 6 people alive today. With continued support ShelterBox are primed and ready to deliver emergency shelter when the next big disaster strikes as well as continuing to help people in Gaza, Syria, Chad and Cameroon and the millions around the world who urgently need their help.

Major Responses

2000		ShelterBox was founded in the small town of Helston, Cornwall by the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard
2001		1st disaster they responded to was after the 7.7 magnitude Gujarat Earthquake on 26 January which killed nearly 20,000 people and destroyed nearly 400,000 homes. Working in partnership with local Rotary contacts, emergency shelter aid and other essential items were provided to families.
2002		Their largest ever and operational changing response. The devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami on Boxing Day changed ShelterBox forever. It devastated the nearest coastlines of Indonesia, killing a quarter of a million people and making nearly two million people homeless. There was a massive surge of support from around the world and as donations and volunteers poured in and they were able to ramp up operations on a scale unimaginable just six months earlier and sent out more than 22,000 boxes. This was almost 10 times the number sent out in the previous three years. Working closely with local Rotary partners they responded in Indonesia and Sri Lanka providing emergency shelter aid and other essential items to thousands of families. For the first time they recruited ShelterBox volunteers from firefighters and healthcare workers to travel with the boxes and distribute them and within days had a team of four ready to travel to Sri Lanka. This response changed the way they worked as ShelterBox Response Team volunteers are now an established and essential part of ShelterBox responses around the world.
2008		the 50th country they helped was the Democratic Republic of Congo, after 250,000 people were forced from their homes by the ongoing conflict
2011		over 20,000 people lost their lives and over half a million were displaced after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Tohoku, Japan, on 11 March triggered a tsunami with waves of up to 10 meters. Working with local Rotary groups, ShelterBox provided emergency shelter aid as well as winter gloves, scarves and hats to help people survive the freezing conditions.
2012		they started providing shelter for families forced to leave their homes fleeing the war in Syria and have been doing so ever since. It is now their longest running ongoing response and has supported over 325,000 people so far
2013		teams support people after Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines
2016		they supported people with emergency shelter after Cyclone Winston hit Fiji
2021		after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the west of Haiti, they provided emergency shelter aid to help communities rebuild
2022		they responded to the Ukraine crisis, helping more than 130,000 people affected by the war. They helped people displaced within Ukraine, as well as refugees who crossed the border into Moldova
2023		devastating earthquakes struck both Northern Syria and Türkiye on 6th February, killing 50,000 people and destroying more than 66,000 buildings. They supported over 12,500 people with emergency shelter and household items particularly as many people were afraid to sleep indoors, fearing another earthquake
2024		more than 90% of the population in Gaza were displaced after October 2023 and they have supported over 2500 households with shelter and household items, including tents, tarpaulins, bedding items, and kitchen items.