First Steps is co-ordinating with ShelterBox to send emergency shelters and vital supplies to victims of torrential rains and devastating floods earlier this month in North Korea.
ShelterBox responds to emergency situations by providing boxed kits to support 10 people for six months.
First Steps executive director Susan Ritchie contacted ShelterBox founder Tom Henderson in Cornwall, England, after it became clear that at least 90,000 North Koreans had lost their homes in the flooding.
Henderson, who is also executive director of ShelterBox, quickly indicated his group’s willingness to help and arrangements are underway to air-freight an intitial 200 ShelterBox units to DPRK by mid-September – that’s enough to house 2,000 people. First Steps intends to place them in Kangwon province, one of the hardest-hit areas and where First Steps also has soymilk production operations.
Each ShelterBox holds a 10-person tent; thermal blankets and insulated ground sheets; waterproof ponchos and bin bags; a multi-fuel stove; cooking and eating essentials; water containers and water purification tablets; and a basic tool kit.
It’s expected Ritchie will accompany a ShelterBox team that will assist with set-up and monitor distribution of the boxes.
