Cologne: A Malteser International emergency assistance team is being deployed to Italy at the request of the Order of Malta’s local aid services. Their mission is to support the Order’s relief efforts following a string of destructive earthquakes in recent weeks, which have left thousands homeless in central Italy.
“The earthquakes have created destruction on an extraordinary scale in some places. Whole villages have simply been wiped off the map,” said Ingo Radtke, Malteser International’s Secretary General. “Our colleagues in CISOM – the Order of Malta’s Italian aid corps – have the situation very much under control. They are well trained, extremely professional, and highly organized. However, such a large-scale long-term event naturally begins to stretch resources, and as the Order’s international relief agency we have been asked for our support. Our team will be there to assist the Order’s Italian relief services, and as a valuable symbol of our continuing solidarity with our Italian colleagues and the people affected by the recent destruction.” The Order of Malta’s relief services in France, Austria, and Germany, are also expected to assist CISOM by dispatching staff to Italy in the coming days.
The Malteser International emergency assistance team in Italy consists of staff from France, Spain, Austria, and Germany. Malteser International Emergency Relief Teams provided life-saving assistance in the wake of the enormously destructive earthquakes that struck Haiti in 2010, and Nepal in 2015. A Malteser International relief team was last dispatched to support the Order of Malta’s Italian relief services following the destructive 2009 earthquake in L’Aquila.
For editors: Malteser International staff in Italy are available for interviews in English, French, German and Spanish
Contact: Tel.: +49 (0)221 9822 155, katharina.kiecol(at)malteser-international.org
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