Portraits of Our Help: Holiday Edition

Throughout 2007, Malteser International has published remarkable stories of how we help people and communities in the countries where we work to rebuild and revitalize. We've met incredible people doing great work and making great strides and doing great services to help others. We've packaged these stories together for the holiday version of our On the SPOT newsletter.

These new Portraits of Our Help offer heartwarming and inspirational stories from people working in India, Dr Congo, Myanmar, Pakistan, India... everywhere where we help provide relief efforts and rebuilding projects. Download our On The Spot Christmas Edition to read our stories.

New Photos from Pakistan Earthquake

Malteser International has new photos of the effects from the deadly earthquake that struck last week in Pakistan, where a devastating earthquake hit on Wednesday, October 29. Malteser International is preparing for emergency relief efforts after a quake with a 6.4 magnitude in the Baluchistan province, which borders Afghanistan, just before dawn. Hundreds were killed in the quake.

Malteser International will send medical personnel and supplies and coordinate hygiene awareness activities to more than 500 families as part of our relief effort. We will also provide temporary shelter, blankets, water cans and hygiene articles for people in Pakistan. 

You can help our relief efforts with a tax-deductible donationto the Order of Malta Worldwide Relief - Malteser International Americas. Your support will help our direct efforts in helping people in Pakistan -- and everywhere we work! 

Click on a photo to enlarge

   
   

New floods in India: Malteser International extends emergency relief for flood victims

"All streets here are flooded; in panic, the people escape onto dams", Annette Wächter-Schneider, Senior Desk Officer for India at Malteser International, currently travelling in the disaster region, reports.

Uttar Pradesh/Cologne. The federal state Uttar Pradesh in northern India is flooded: After further heavy monsoon rains, more than 500,000 m³ of water have been discharged from the overfull dams in neighbouring Nepal.

“All streets here are flooded; in panic, the people escape onto dams”, Annette Wächter-Schneider, Senior Desk Officer for India at Malteser International, currently travelling in the disaster region, reports. Already in 2007, devastating floods had afflicted Uttar Pradesh. “Four weeks ago, we handed out boats to the population - only with these, the people can find refuge on the dams”, Wächter-Schneider says. “As daily labourers, they live from hand to mouth and have no stockpiles. They are now urgently in need of food and further assistance”, the expert underlines.

In the neighbouring federal state Bihar, Malteser International has already been assisting the flood victims on the border with Nepal during the past weeks. In the mid of August, a dam of the river Kosi in Nepal broke and lead to severe floods, amongst others in India. Millions of the poorest people in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and the neighbouring regions are affected by the floods. One of the causes is the heaviest monsoon rain since years. 

Together with the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, Malteser International has already provided around 165,000 Euro for the emergency relief.

You can help with a donation to Malteser International Americas. 

View current photos on our online database at: http://php.malteser.de/cpg133/thumbnails.php?album=245

On The SPOT: August Newsletter

This month, Order of Malta Worldwide Relief - Malteser International Americas pays tribute to two colleagues who recently passed. We mourn the loss of Dr. Yohannes Ligiam and Anne Broquet, two extraordinary individuals who made their life's work in helping others. We extend our condolences to their friends and families.

You can pay tribute to our colleagues -- or to your own family and friends -- by making an honor and/or memorial gift to Malteser International Americas. You can also notify friends and family of your gift with one of our eCards.    

Be sure to visit our social network pages on MySpace and Razoo, as well as our YouTube channel. Finally, you can help us today by forwarding this email to a friend and by making a donation to help support our efforts. Your support helps us continue our work to relieve suffering and make a difference in people's lives.

Dr.Yohannes Ligiam during an HIV/AIDS sensibilisation campaign

Malteser International Mourns the Loss of Dr. Yohannes Ligiam

Malteser International mourns the sudden and unexpected death of its highly esteemed staff member Dr. Yohannes Ligiam. Dr. Ligiam had been working as a HIV/AIDS-Project Manager for Malteser International in Wa/Myanmar. He died of a sudden heart attack on July 14 while on his way from his hotel to an internet cafe. He was 56.

Dr. Ligiam was a dedicated colleague who committed his life and work to helping others. His thoughts were always on the people he assisted and his co-workers. His death has hit us all unexpectedly. We will never forget Dr. Ligiam. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his colleagues and friends. We will commemorate him.

Anne Broquet discussing with a monk in Sri Lanka

Malteser International Pays Tribute to Anne Broquet 

Malteser International is grieving for its colleague and friend of "Ordre de Malte France", the relief service of the French Association of the Order of Malta. Anne Broquet died on July 16 in Paris after a long illness. She was 60. Broquet's last deployments took her to Sri Lanka and India for the emergency relief after tsunami.

With Anne Broquet, Malteser International does not only lose a highly esteemed colleague and important team member, but also a very close friend and convincing example of Christian faith and living. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family.

AFRICA

Testing for sleeping sickness in Yei South Sudan

Sudan: Health Care Now in Prisons

Malteser International is working on behalf of local health authorities to assure health education in prisons of Yei in South Sudan. Beginning in July, in cooperation with representatives of the health authority, Malteser International organized health education and training for about 100 prisoners and prison staff and informed them about frequent diseases like tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, sleeping sickness and leprosy. Treatment of these diseases and the visit of other prisons in Yei are planned in cooperation with the local hospital.

Sudan: Raising Awareness for Malaria Season 

Malteser International conducted malaria awareness-building sessions in June for 225 community health volunteers in North Darfur. These volunteers received comprehensive training to educate in their respective villages on malaria prevention and control: the destruction of breeding sites for anopheles mosquitoes; identification of symptoms; and the importance of seeking malaria treatment promptly. The goal is to improve awareness and knowledge and also to promote community participation on malaria prevention.

These community health volunteers also throw light on the danger of malaria for pregnant women and the benefit of sleeping under long -lasting mosquito nets. During the peak of the malaria season, Malteser International distributes mosquito nets to all pregnant women coming to the health centre for pre-natal care.

Malteser International realized measures of compound sanitation in all supported health facilities by installing water tanks, building incinerators and planting a total of 80 desert trees.

Uganda: Community-Based Health Teams in Kaberamaido

In June 2008, Malteser International started a new flood relief project following the severe floods in September, 2007. We aim to build awareness for the community-based health system in the district of Kaberamaido. Citizens will be taught the dangers of an outbreak of epidemics, for example, after flood disasters. The health situation in Kaberamaido remains critical after being severely affected by the floods last year. 

ASIA

During the computer software training in Aceh Besar

Indonesia: Implementation of Health Information System Reaches New Level

Since 2005, Malteser International has been supporting the public health authority of the district Aceh with the implementation of a computer-based health information system, where all the relevant data of patients are saved. After the tsunami, such a system was urgently needed. The software training for the staff in the health centers will be completed in the end of July. A new phase of the project is beginning: more and more specialized staff from the local foundation Air Putih will assure the sustainable use of the programs in the health centers. 

Myanmar: Relief for the Survivors of Cyclone Nargis; Proceeds Basic Health Care and WASH Activities on Middle Island

In addition to the relief measures in Labutta in the severely affected Irrawaddy Delta, Malteser International now also takes care of health care and water supply for about 62,000 people in the northern part of Middle Island, located about 40 kilometers from Labutta. After cyclone Nargis hit the coast of Myanmar this past May, the government of Myanmar requested medical teams of the International Hospital Yangon provide assistance to the population of Middle Island. The International Hospital is now handing over four health centers on Middle Island, providing medicines, staff and equipment.

Four medical teams -- consisting of  five doctors, seven nurses and one pharmacist -- distribute insecticides to prevent an outbreak of infectious diseases like dengue or malaria. "The insecticide will be put in all cisterns and water tanks because dengue and malaria are transmitted by mosquitoes breeding in the water", Dr. Marie Theres Benner, Senior Health Coordinator of Malteser International reports from Yangon. In the worst case, the diseases lead to death if no medical support is given. The insecticide avoids the breeding of the mosquito larvae and minimizes the number of infections. "Before the start of the campaign, we have trained the health workers in the use and handling of the insecticides. We have informed the people living here on Middle Island how they can protect themselves against infections and how they can identify them in an early stage," Dr. Benner explains. Malteser International will build 75 rain water harvesting tanks as well as 2,000 fly proof latrines and rehabilitate 100 water sources on Middle Island that have been flooded by sea water during the disaster.

The hospital on Middle Island has been completely destroyed by the cyclone

Families on the island who have lost all their belongings during the cyclone receive cookware, soap, plastic sheets, rain coats and other urgently needed relief items. Malteser International trains community health workers in order to enable them to inform their communities about infectious diseases and how to avoid them. 

In Labutta, a heavily destroyed coastal town in the Irrawaddy Delta, the aid measures of Malteser International still go on. Staff members provide medical care for 16,000 internally displaced persons and 24,000 inhabitants. Malteser International is also supplying about 100,000 people in Labutta and its outskirts with safe drinking water. More than 15,000 mosquito nets and 2,700 "family kits" with cookware, hygiene articles and water cans have been distributed to the neediest families. 

Visit our website for more information or to make a donation to our Myanmar fund.

Women during the CEFE Training

Vietnam: Business training for the Poorest Women in Hoa Quy

Malteser International is using business skills training to respond to an alarming situation for many women in Hoa Quy in the district Ngu Hanh Son. These women suffer from a lack of almost everything required in daily life and are not able to comply with the basic needs of their families. In this training, named Competency-based Economies through Formation of Enterprise (CEFE) training (http://www.cefe.net/) the women get basic economic knowledge and learn selling skills. After the training, they are able to set up a small business, earn money and thus sustain their families. The project is financed by the German consulate in Ho Chi Minh City.

Rehabilitation of health facilities in Kashmir

Pakistan: New project supports disaster prevention

Malteser International will begin comprehensive measures for disaster prevention in areas that are regularly threatened by forces of nature like Azad Jammu and Kashmir in Pakistan. Due to the geographic conditions, these regions suffer regular earthquakes and other natural forces. Long-dated disaster prevention is necessary as the effects of the October 2005, which killed an estimated 73,000 people.

Flooding in Central and Eastern Europe

Malteser International is providing relief for victims of the floods in Central and Eastern Europe.

Situation
Heavy rains and storms which started on 22-23 July have led to severe flooding in parts of Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Moldova and Slovakia. Areas of Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova are most seriously affected. About 40,000 people have been evacuated in these countries.

In Ukraine, the number of people killed has risen to 34. About 25,000 people have been evacuated. 9,000 houses and 24,000 hectares of farmland are still flooded. In Romania, the floods are reported to be the worst for 40 years. Five people are reported to have been killed. About 9,000 houses were damaged, and 26,000 hectares of land were flooded.

Action of Malteser International and the Order of Malta Relief Organizations in Central and Eastern Europe (OMRO)

Malteser International has provided a total of 20,000 Euro for first flood responses. 10,000 Euro of this amount will be used by the Romanian Relief Organization of the Order of Malta, the SAMR, for small scale distribution programs in some affected areas where branches of the SAMR are already active. The second part of the fund will be used by the Ukrainian Relief Organization of the Order, the MSD. They will possibly concentrate on small rehabilitation works in greater Lviv district.

The Hungarian relief organisation, the MMSz is also conducting flood responses in Cis-Carpathia and they have started a donation campaign in Hungary.

The Czech Relief Organization of the Order, the MP has offered 71 dryers which may get used on demand by Romania and Ukraine or any other OMRO. The use of the dryers may be an option when water levels have declined.

You can help with a tax-deductible donation to Malteser International Americas. Visit our Support Us section to learn more about how you can help.