Malteser Aid Slovakia in Bratislava takes next steps: New headquarters inaugurated
The Grand Hospitaller of the Sovereign Order of Malta, Dominique de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Minister of Health of the Slovak Republic, Andrea Kalavská, in Bratislava on Friday 13 September. He was then delighted to attend the inauguration of the new headquarters of Malteser Aid Slovakia.
The main purpose of the Memorandum is to further strengthen the already existing friendship and cooperation in the humanitarian and health fields between Slovakia and the Order of Malta. It is intended to support, implement and strengthen the development and diversification of this cooperation in the health services of the Slovak Republic, and to cooperate in expanding medical education (first aid, training for professional staff, etc.). The Memorandum is valid for a period of 15 years.
The Grand Hospitaller expressed his satisfaction with the agreement to the Minister because: “It will allow the aid organisation of the Order of Malta in Slovakia to support many more people in the future.”
Dominique de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel and Alfred von Schönburg-Hartenstein, Ambassador of the Order to the Slovak Republic, then attended the opening of the first national headquarters of the Order´s relief organisation in Slovakia, Malteser Aid Slovakia. The new headquarters were blessed by Mons. Stanislav Zvolenský, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Bratislava, in a ceremony which included over 150 members of the Order, many of the relief organisation’s volunteers and local and international guests. The headquarters are located in the heart of Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava.
The President of the Malteser Aid Slovakia, Dr. Julius Brichta, explained: “The centre will serve as a main point of contact, an education centre, and a base for the local members and volunteers, as well as becoming the project management centre for the growing charitable works of the Order in Slovakia.”
Malteser Aid Slovakia works in a number of locations around the country: Bratislava, Nitra, Topolcany in the west, and in eastern Slovakia. Two special projects for the Roma help over 100 children who attend pre-school education every day. Other activities include organisation and healthcare during the national pilgrimage to Sastin, the delivery of over 15,000 meals for the elderly in Bratislava annually, winter night shelter for homeless, and meals and clothes collection for the poor.
