This looks pretty good. Good people. Great goal. Great cause. Totally doable. Seems like with this crowd we could call ourselves Shelters R Us.
Have a look and think about it. Badger will buy the first round (after your return)
A local group of burners working with World Shelters
(http://www.worldshelters.org ) is looking for volunteers to go down to
Biloxi, MI and help build and maintain shelters. I've attached the mail
that they sent to local groups. They could probably use people skilled
in the Art of Rangering pretty badly.
Jesse sent this to allcom separately, so I'm just sending this locally
-- if you're getting this and you're out of the area, they still want
help, especially from rangers, so contact him.
--Zeitgeist
--
From: [email protected]
Subject: Volunteers needed for Oxfam/World Shelters Task Force in Biloxi...
My name is Jesse Robbins, I'm a member of the BRC Volunteer Fire
Department and a Burner since '96. I'm looking for Seattle-area
people to join a Task Force building shelters for those displaced
by the Katrina hurricane.
We will be setting up an on-site production facility for World Shelters
(http://www.worldshelters.org).
Once this facility has been established and we have generated sufficient
inventory we will dispatch crews to deploy the completed shelters. The
first agency request has been for 500 units, and there are expected to
be thousands more.
Q: What requirements are there to volunteer as a Shelter Crew Member?
A: Being in a disaster environment is a stressful experience. Members
must be both mentally and physically healthy and bring an abundance of
patience, flexibility, and positive thinking with them.
Members must be able to work hard in hot, humid weather during the day
and sleep in an non-air conditioned shelter at night.
Q: How long is the commitment?
A: 7 days on site, with travel on either side. I'm hoping to be on-site
with the first team by Monday, September 19th.
Q: Who is requesting/sponsoring this?
A: World Shelters and Oxfam America.
http://www.worldshelters.org
http://www.oxfamamerica.org
Q: Why is Oxfam focusing on Biloxi?
A: Oxfam focuses on marginalized communities, those with the least
resources to respond and recover from a disaster. They aren't getting
the help they need and so Oxfam is responding where it can do the most
good.
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/newsandpubl ... 6867304122
Q: How did you get involved in this, and what is your role?
A: I met several members of the World Shelters organization at
Burningman. They were evaluating their new shelter there, and
introduced me to their technology and mission.
When I learned about the Katrina disaster, I contacted them to find out
if they would be providing aid. They had just been contacted, and had
started to prepare equipment and materials for the first 500 shelters.
At that point I offered to assemble and manage a Task Force to help them
deploy shelters on-site. Oxfam and the Biloxi area residents have a
stated need, and we will help World Shelters meet it.
Q: What support will Oxfam / FEMA provide?
A: FEMA should provide us identification laminates, designate a base
location, and a site to deploy the shelters. The central coordination
system isn't working effectively, and it's difficult to ascertain
exactly what the situation will be when we get there.
Q: How will we get there?
A: Some will fly in to a staging city to get vehicles and provision,
others will drive in RVs and Vans.
Q: What will I need to bring?
A: Everything for 7-10 days of hard work with no outside support.
We will centrally provision food, water, toilets, and shelter at the
base.
Q: Who will pay for this?
A: Initially, several of us will be doing this out-of-pocket, some people
remaining in Seattle will be doing fund raising and sponsorship to
reduce the personal impact.
Q: What should I do now?
A: If you're interested, please call or email me to let me know. I'll
add you
to the email list and roster, and begin working on your schedule and
logistics as well as start the application and screening process.
Comments? Questions?
Email [email protected] or Call (206) 755-3739
Sincerely,
Jesse Robbins
