Brave Kiwis from across New Zealand are putting up their tents in their backyards this July to support ShelterBox’s OffTheGrid Challenge.

ShelterBox is an international disaster relief organisation that, for over 20 years, has been hand delivering emergency shelter and essential aid items to families devastated by natural disaster and conflict. ShelterBox is currently working in Ukraine, Syria, Turkey, Cameroon and so many other countries around the world.

OffTheGrid is a new challenge introduced this year. It challenges those who sign up to camp out and turn off all technology to understand what it is like after a disaster.

The rules are simple. No electricity and nothing with an ‘on’ button. How far you take the challenge is up to you, the bigger the challenge the more people sponsor you, the more you will be helping people in crisis – who have no shelter, no home and no access to any power.

Brent Eddy, ShelterBox New Zealand’s Chair is going OffTheGrid, with or without his family, to support the challenge this year. He says “OffTheGrid is brilliant. It feels very New Zealand to me. It combines our love of the outdoors, with our sense of duty to help others, kotahitanga, and throws in a little crazy by placing the event in the extremes of winter. July is one of our coldest months, and it will be appalling here in Wairarapa. This will really challenge people to think about the conditions faced by those who have lost their homes and are left with nothing but the clothes on their backs, like what we saw after the Turkey and Syria earthquake earlier this year.”

“It is an easy, fun activity. We hope lots of families will go OffTheGrid with us this July. Simply choose a 24-hour period to camp out in the garden. Given that it coincides with school holidays and the Matariki long weekend, it is a great way to spend time together, make a campfire and go completely offline.”

ShelterBox is there to provide emergency shelter when homes are lost. The money raised by taking the OffTheGrid challenge will make a real difference in family’s recovery. Tents, ShelterKits, cooking equipment, solar lights, hammers, rope and water purification units are just some of the things that will help families who need it most.

For more information about the OffTheGrid challenge or ShelterBox NZ please visit our website: www.shelterbox.org.nz

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