Order of Malta Worldwide Relief -- Malteser International Americas | Blog: Stories from the Field: Asia, Africa, Americas

In the wake of the heavy earthquake in Pakistan, Malteser International is supporting the Joint Assessment conducted by the “Pakistan Humanitarian Forum.” The relief efforts include sending a medical doctor to the affected region in Beluchistan where the earthquake caused more than 160 deaths. In the district of Ziarat alone, more than 50,000 people are affected. The Federal Foreign Office of Germany has announced its financial support for the relief activities as well.

To provide emergency relief in the disaster area, Malteser plans to support at least 500 affected families with non-food items like tarpaulins for temporary shelter, drinking water containers and purification tablets. We are also promoting hygiene awareness in the area and distributing family hygiene kits including soap, buckets, bowls, and towels.

Having operated in Pakistan within the districts of Kohistan, Muzaffarabad and Bagh since a severe earthquake struck the region in 2005, Malteser International is uniquely situated to provide relief during this crisis. Malteser's efforts have focused on providing winter-proven temporary shelter, rehabilitating water supply structures, treating patients in remote areas with mobile health teams, and rebuilding Basic Health Units. After the severe floods in Beluchistan in 2007, Malteser International provided disaster relief to 1,000 affected families.

Malteser International Americas asks for your help by making a donation to support our relief efforts in Pakistan and worldwide. Make a commitment by visiting www.maltarelief.org/pakistan to make a secure, tax-deductible online donation today.

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.