THE FOUNDER and chief executive of disaster relief charity ShelterBox has been in Haiti seeing first hand the severity of the devastation left behind by the January earthquake.

Tom Henderson was in Port au Prince last week where 10,000 ShelterBox tents have been distributed to those left homeless in the tragedy, with thousands more on the way.

He has been undertaking a field assessment of ShelterBox operations in the country while meeting partner agencies who have provided support during one of the largest deployments in the charity's 10-year history.

Evaluation

He is joined by ShelterBox international train- ing academy manager Ben Spurway and response team member David Eby, two of the first aid workers to arrive in Port au Prince following the earthquake on January 12.

"This trip has enabled us to stage a detailed evaluation of the crucial work being undertaken by our response team volunteers operating in the field," Tom said.

"We have had teams on the ground in Port au Prince since the earthquake struck and we have distributed more than 10,000 tents and life-saving supplies to those most in need, with thousands more tents committed to Haiti.

"With an estimated one million Haitians still living without adequate shelter in heavy rains and the hurricane season soon approaching, there is certainly no let-up in the need for emergency shelter."

Those on the ground still say that tents are vital and SRT member Phil Duloy said: "I met a family of three in Delmas staying in a shelter made of sticks lashed together with shoelaces, covered by bed sheets and walled with old cardboard boxes. They were very happy to move into a ShelterBox tent."

Also on the ground is Jens Pagotto, who added: "The need here is still desperately unfulfilled. Our tents and family kits are in high demand. The co-operation and co-ordination between different agencies is very strong and the number of different projects we'll be working on over the next few weeks is growing all the time.

"With sometimes two or three families living in one tent, the only questions we are asked are when and how many more tents we can provide.

"The need shows no signs of letting up, and it's obvious that our involvement here is still as important as it was five or six weeks ago.

"Only the other day I met a boy, less than three years old, who was found left in a skip.

"He is now making a full recovery at the Miami University Field Hospital and I am told there is a chance that an adoptive family or place at an orphanage is being arranged."