Fifty members representing the European, US and Canada Hospitallers of the Order met in Paris last week to review charitable projects to date and to plan future works in the field.
The Order has projects running in 120 countries, many of them sponsored by the European group. Special focus was given to the Order’s rehabilitation programmes in the Lebanon, where its 10 health centres suffered damage during the calamitous events of last summer, including the complete destruction of two of them. Work is underway to rebuild not only the centres, and repair those that suffered in the bombing raids, but also to help the afflicted civilians rebuild their lives.
The conference was organised and hosted by the French Association, whose notable activities include some imaginative works – for example, two barges on the Seine in Paris, as overnight shelters to feed and care for the homeless, and, at the request for their assistance by the French government, are providing care for asylum seekers and their families.
The Order’s European organisations also reported on their projects, with the Spanish describing the first aid assistance at the 5th World Meeting of Families in Valencia, last summer, the Irish their continuing success with training young first aiders across the country, the Italians revealing further plans to develop the hospital S. Giovanni Battista in Rome which specialises in working with patients in a semi-conscious state, the Belgians working with handicapped children and training many volunteers to help. The British noted that they now run over 60 homes for the elderly with a turnover of over GBP 70 million per annum, the Swiss are developing their work with childrens’ camps for the underprivileged, the Hungarians are operating homes and schooling for handicapped children, the Austrians continuing their ambulance and first aid services, the Germans too, with both offering intensive training programmes in this field.
Malteser International, the Order’s worldwide relief service, reported a steady increase in activity, including plans to open a regional office in North America, and CIOMAL, the Order’s organisation for the treatment of leprosy described its ongoing activities, particularly noting the success of its programmes of care, cure and rehabilitation for leprosy victims in Cambodia.
The meeting, an annual event, enables participants to share experiences and discuss initiatives in its ongoing mission to help the sick and the poor in many countries of the world.
