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.

World AIDS Day: HIV Prevention in India

Today is World AIDS Day, a day for individuals and organizations worldwide to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic. The Order of Malta Worldwide Relief -- Malteser International Americas commemorates the 20th anniversary of this historic day with three new stories this week that describe how Malteser International promotes HIV prevention in the countries where we work. Today’s story focuses on our work in India with HIV prevention and against discrimination of people living with AIDS.

2.5 million in India people are infected with HIV, primarily in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Since the disease is most commonly contracted in India through heterosexual contact, an unusually high percentage of infected people here are women (38%).

One such woman, Helen Marie, only discovered she was HIV positive when her husband died of AIDS. She soon faced discrimination even from her family who was unwilling to associate with her.

Negative attitudes about HIV and AIDS in India are largely fueled by ignorance about the ways people can become infected. Discrimination often results in social isolation and economic hardship when people in their community sometimes become unwilling to hire them in their businesses, or forbid their children to play with the children of HIV infected neighbors.

The task of educating the public about the disease and fighting stigma is a large one. People like Pazhania Pillai, a local artist who has written over 80 songs about HIV/AIDS, have used their creativity to inform their community. Pillai remarks, "With my songs, I want to make sure that the healthy people show solidarity with the infected persons."

Malteser International works with the Center for Social Reconstruction (CSR), an Indian relief organization, in order to support AIDS victims and inform healthy people about the disease. CSR employees advise AIDS patients about their rights and conduct educational campaigns to fight stigma and discourage further infection.

There is a long way to go, but the efforts of CSR and passionate people like Pazhania Pillai are encouraging signs of progress.

Bananas instead of education

As Malteser International continues to work in the DR Congo, we offer this story about Julie* and how we help commemorate International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women Day (Nov 25) by supporting victims of sexual violence and receive medical and psychosocial assistance. You can support our efforts in the DR Congo and everywhere we work with a tax-deductible donationto the Order of Malta Worldwide Relief -- Malteser International Americas.  You can also view Malteser International's Women in Congo photo gallery.


As the sun sets, Julie* is sitting on the streets and is selling bananas and corn to people that pass by on bicycles. Beside her, in the shadow, her three years old son Emile* is constructing a tower with small stones. Julie plants the corn by herself in the garden of her parents. She still lives with them and her son Emile. But deep inside, the Congolese woman once had different dreams: she wanted to finish school, study and have a family of her own. "But life is rarely a dream", she says.

Three years before Julie was raped for the first time, in broad daylight, on the way to Mahagi in the east of DR Congo, on the way back to her home village, which is several kilometers away. An unknown man was following her. When nobody was around on the streets any longer he pulled her into the bushes. Nobody heard her cries for help.

Two months later she realized that she was pregnant. So she had to tell her parents and explain her pregnancy. "It was a terrible blow for them. Not only because such a thing happened to me, but also for the shame that I had brought to the family: made pregnant by a man whose name I didn’t even know? My father went completely mad, my mother was in despair." Even now, Julie is still not able to speak with her parents about her feelings. At least she is allowed to stay at home. But where would she have gone – without money and education? When she became pregnant, she needed to leave school and never continued with it. "I need to take care of my son and to ensure our survival."

Rapes are still a part of daily life in Congo. Most of the offenders are former soldiers and rebels. In most of the cases they are not caught and are rarely adequately punished. But the affected women and girls – and more frequently also boys – are suffering through the discrimination of a society. Up until now sexual violence has been a taboo subject in the DR Congo. Their society often judges and isolates the victims, because they still believe that victims either wanted or provoked their attack. Due to this way of thinking many men leave their wives.

Many victims of rape need medical and emotional support and because of this Malteser International has a project to care for the affected girls and women. Its main focus is the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases like Hepatitis or HIV/AIDS.

The organization collaborates with local partners that take care of the necessary psychological support. Since the beginning of the project in 2005, Malteser International has treated almost 7,000 women. The true figures are far higher. "Often I go home after work and can’t forget what I have heard and seen all day long", tells the attending doctor in the health center of Mahagi. "The most terrifying thing is that the victims are getting younger. More and more we are seeing children aged five or six. I then imagine my own children and ask myself if it could happen to them. Who is doing such things like that? Absolutely horrible. Every month I have to treat 300 to 400 cases."

Julie has found herself yet again under the care of the medical center, having been raped again last year. It happened again during broad daylight, and again on her way back to her village. Even today, twelve months later, she has serious injuries over her whole body and needs to take medicines. "I am very happy that I get treatment for free in the health center", she says. "And that I have somebody with whom I can talk about what happened.

Malteser International gave me a bicycle. With this I can get to the health center a lot quicker and I am not so afraid of the going home alone."

It is late afternoon. Julie has sold all the bananas and is packing her things together, ready for going home with Emile. Children and teenagers are crossing her way. She looks at them with a wistful expression in her eyes. "Maybe one day I can go back to school. This is my dream."

Kathrin Meier

* Names changed.

"I Have Clean Water"

We continue our look at clean water stories from Sri Lanka, as part of our WASH program (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) series. This story comes P.G Kalyani, a 38-year old woman in Magalthota. She has two sons and a daughter who are still schooling. Her husband is a mason. Villagers in this area are suffering immensely due to non-availability of water. Water is collected from very far away places. 

 Learn more about our WASH program with our free downloadable report or watch our WASH: Life Without Water video on our YouTube channel.

"My water is now clean"

We cannot obtain water from neighbors because the quality of water in the wells located in the area is not suitable for drinking as it is often saline and gives a different taste. Therefore water has been a burning issue for the entire village for years.

I have a well in my garden, but it can only be used for domestic purposes. For bathing and washing, we have to go to an outlying well. The well runs dry in dry seasons. It's a felt need to find out a solution for the purification of water as we drink contaminated water. The villagers in the area are often sick without a particular reason. Later it was found out by the Public Health Inspector (PHI) in the area that it was due to drinking contaminated water. As I said earlier, water is collected from distant places in containers which have been used for years. This is a common scene in the village. No persons or organizations paid attention towards this problem.

One day, the PHI in the area came to our house and told me that he is doing a survey to find out beneficiaries for biosand filters. Biosand filters are new to our community. Thirty villagers, including me, were selected as beneficiaries for these filters. We were taught how to use  the filters by the PHI and by Malteser International, who funded the filters. After training, we built filters as per the instruction given by the PHI.

There are several ways of purifying water. I know only a few of them. But none of them were used by me to purify water before the introduction of biosand filters. When water is boiled, my children hesitate to drink it saying that boiled water doesn't quench thirst. This biosand filter is being used to purify water. There is no any change in the taste of water after the purification and in addition water becomes cold.

Several water testing were done and we were told that the purified water is free from bacteriological contamination. Malteser International often visit our houses to help us maintain the filter. Maintenance of the filter is very simple.

I am very happy to say that this filter is very useful to us and I feel there's an improvement in our health as we are free from diseases such as diarrhea. Now, we drink purified water. We can understand that unpurified water can make us ill. I take this opportunity to thank Maltser for giving us a very useful water filter.

Author: Muditha Menu Mataraarachchi  Malteser International, WASH Office, Galle.

What we have done up to now

According to the latest official figures, the death toll has risen to 78,000 people, while more than 56,000 people are still missing. It is estimated that 1.5 million people are left  homeless and 2.4 million people are affected. It was reported that 1,000 schools collapsed and 2,200 damaged. Most of Myanmar’s casualties were killed by a 12-foot (3.5 meter) wall of water that hit the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta along with 190 kph (120 mph) winds.

Diarrhea, dysentery and skin infections have already afflicted some survivors crammed into monasteries, schools and other buildings after arriving in towns that were on the breadline even before the disaster. The United Nations say more than half a million people may now be in temporary settlements.

Malteser International works with local hospitals to provide medicine, on the job training in rain water collection and chlorination as well as staff members working in the fields of mother-child-health and antenatal care. We're also organizing health and hygiene education for the people  in Labutta to minimize the risk of the outbreak of diseases. The organization also provides  soap for 5,200 households and shelter material (blankets, plastic sheets and mosquito nets) for the internally displaced persons. In Labutta, Malteser International works to make the water safe for drinking (see photo, above).

Here are some statistics from our relief efforts:

• First aid and medical treatment for the injured and sick
• Supply of safe drinking water for 60,000 people, 850 plastic sheets for emergency shelter, 750 "family kits" (containing cookware, hygiene articles and water cans)
• Distribution of about 800 mosquito nets and 400 blankets
• Water testing service for other NGOs
• Training of Malteser International staff members in the handling of water treatment plants by THW

But, we need your help. Your tax-deductible donation to Malteser International Americas can go a long way to support our relief efforts in countries like Myanmar. We're on the spot, ready to help alleviate suffering. You can be part of our efforts.