EARLIER this year former Times reporter, Tommy Tonkins, undertook his first aid mission with Cornish-based disaster relief charity ShelterBox.

Tommy, aged 26, now lives in Penryn, after working for the Times from 2007 to 2008. He has been involved with ShelterBox since 2009 and qualified as one of the charity's highly-trained Response Team members in September this year.

A month later, Tommy was tasked with delivering emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies to families on the Caribbean island of St Lucia, who lost their homes when Hurricane Tomas struck the country in October.

Below is Tommy's account of his first ShelterBox deployment, which began with a race against the clock to make it from Helston to Gatwick airport:

'No amount of training could have prepared me for when the call came to drop everything and head into a disaster zone. It was late afternoon on Thursday, November 4. I was busy planning for Bonfire Night, about to leave the office when I was told: "We need you to go to St Lucia and we need you to go now."

'Virgin Atlantic had an empty plane flying to St Lucia to rescue stranded passengers and they asked ShelterBox if we wanted to put ShelterBoxes on the flight. The only catch was we had to drive the boxes through the night to get to Gatwick Airport to meet the plane in time and to do that we had to drop everything and go.

'I had just enough time to grab my kit bag and then I was on my way up the A30 in a van full of 30 ShelterBoxes. I didn't know what to expect, I didn't even know if I would be able to make it onto the flight. What I did know was thousands of miles away across the Atlantic there were St Lucian families in desperate need of our help.

'We made it to Gatwick on time and after a series of frantic phone calls in the early hours of the morning I finally made it on to the plane. I was the only passenger and was looked after by fourteen crew all in their pyjamas! It was one of the strangest experiences of my life. The crew, captain and Virgin Atlantic were incredible and without their support we wouldn't have been able to help as quickly as we did.

'Hurricane Tomas was the worst hurricane to hit St Lucia in more than 30 years and the island had been completely devastated. Heavy rains had triggered landslides and caused rivers to burst their banks while the winds had destroyed all the island's crops and felled swathes of trees. There was no water on the island and the infrastructure had been severely damaged.

'On my first day in the country I had to travel by boat and off-road in a 4x4 to reach one of the worst affected villages. I was working with the St Lucian Red Cross and an organisation called NEMO (National Emergency Management Office) and with their help made it to a village high in the hills called Fond St Jacques.

'A massive landslide had ripped through the village destroying scores of homes, leaving scores more buried beneath mud and claiming 14 lives. The damage was catastrophic and 125 people were having to shelter in the village's small church. There were about 30 children there too, living in cramped conditions with no privacy and nowhere to call home. What amazed me was the resilience of the people. I was greeted with smiling faces, warm words and heartfelt thanks.

'With the help of the Rotary network in St Lucia I was able to move the first five families into ShelterBox tents later on the same day. I could see the sense of relief in their faces and they were so thankful to know that people around the world had cared enough to help them at a time when they absolutely needed it the most.

'The passion, pride and determination of the St Lucian people was inspirational to see and experience. It was a privilege to be able to help them and to give them the tools they needed to start rebuilding their lives.

'2010, ShelterBox's tenth anniversary, has been the busiest year in the charity's history. More than 45,000 ShelterBoxes have been distributed to families who, through no fault of their own, have lost everything. None of this would've been possible without everyone who has supported and donated to ShelterBox.

'I'm lucky enough to witness humbling acts of generosity on a daily basis. The capacity for people to go the extra mile and to give their time, energy and money for the good of others will never cease to amaze me. It's because of these people that families the world over have been given hope to light their darkest of hours. As we move into the New Year I have one thought running through my head: "Don't do nothing, do something. You'll be amazed at the difference you can make."'

ShelterBox is an international disaster relief charity that provides emergency shelter and life-saving supplies to families around the world who are affected by disasters. In ten short years ShelterBox have responded to earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, landslides, typhoons and conflict, delivering lifesaving aid to families across the globe at a time when they need it the most.

ShelterBox aims to help the areas where the need is greatest by providing shelter, warmth, comfort and dignity to families in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.

Each big, green ShelterBox is tailored to every disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water purification and storage equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children's activity pack and other vital items.

From the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, there is no disaster too big or too small for ShelterBox. Simply put, if there is an unmet need for emergency shelter, the charity will do everything in its power to meet that need.

ShelterBox relies entirely on public donations and could not operate without the generosity of people the world over. A box can be sponsored for £590 – this takes into account the costs of all materials, packing, storage, transport worldwide and delivery to families most in need at a time of disaster by a team of highly trained volunteers.

Since its inception in 2000, ShelterBox has firmly established itself at the forefront of international disaster relief, providing emergency shelter for the people who need it most.

For the latest information on ShelterBox, including ways you can help, go to http://www.shelterbox.org">www.shelterbox.org