heading to the hurricane site this weekend...

As some of you already know, I’ve gone all philanthropic and volunteered to work on a task force for World Shelter systems in Bilaoxi, creating and maintaining shelters and living conditions for people in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

We so far have confirmed request of 60 shelters from Oxfam (a NGO 501c3 non-profit) but the current need for shelter and basic living facilities far outweighs the supply. We are waiting on the last of the FEMA red tape, but once that is out of the way I expect we will have work that we can be doing for several months.

I will probably be in charge of on-site logistics (food, water, sanitation) for the shelter building team (in addition to building myself) but in addition to this groups stuff, I’ll be wanting a few things that I don't currently have, and I’m hoping that my friends might be able to loan me.

Specifically I’m looking for:

1) Lightweight (i.e. backpacking) tent or other mosquito shelter
2) Water filter (again, looking for a backpacking type system - the higher tech the better)
3) wi-fi capable communication (either laptop or preferably, something smaller)
4) a leatherman (could be very handy)
5) MRE’s or any other efficient ‘shelf’ food items (just need 72 hours worth)

Looks like I’ll be driving out either Thursday/Friday or flying out Friday/Saturday and staying on site at least a week (maybe more depending on my employer).

I’ll do my best to keep y’all updated,
Thanks,
--Heather