(Rivista Internazionale - December 1994: Development of the Order of Malta's activities - 2/4)

5. PERSONAL CONTRIBUTION OF MEMBERS
This is one of the few duties requested of all members, expressly set down in the Constitution and Code.
An urgent recommendation has been made by the Strategies Commission's Working Group on First Aid and Relief during Disasters for the Order's members to take a first-aid course as a minimum preparation for future service. Various organisations of the Order have already decided to introduce, or are considering doing so, a preparatory period for new members before they enter the Order to give them a clear idea of the duties required and training to accomplish them.

Verbania. (Novara). A motorboat equipped for sea rescue of the Rescue Team of the Order's Italian Relief Corps (1st Group).

6. COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION, DATA COLLECTION, CO-ORDINATION
As part of the Future Strategies development process, the need for improvement in the communications and information, data-collection and co-ordination sectors has been stressed.
6.1 NEWSLETTER AND INTERNATIONAL REVIEW
The introduction of the NEWSLETTER and the re-organisation of the INTERNATIONAL REVIEW has meant a considerable improvement in providing information for the Order's members. Further work on these projects will be carried out by the relative offices of the Grand Magistry.
6.2 REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES
In 1990, an exhaustive and detailed account of the Order's activities was published, based on a questionnaire sent out by the Commission for Future Strategies. The data recorded is contained and assessed in the REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES 1990. During the last conference of European Hospitallers, parts of the questionnaire were revised for the next edition.
6.3 MALTANET
For a more efficient exchange of information within the Order between the institutions and people involved in the hospitaller activities, the first steps for installing a "mailbox" information processing system were taken. This communications network has been called «MALTANET». It can be used for exchanging information as well as for the transfer of complete files with the electronic post system (E-MAIL).
6.4 CO-ORDINATION CENTRE FOR LATIN
AMERICA IN FLORIDA
The two Latin-American conferences have played an important role in promoting the Order in Latin America. During the first conference in São Paolo, Brazil in 1990, the idea of creating a co-ordination centre for Latin America was broached.
In the second conference in Cartagena, Colombia in 1992, it was decided that the centre would be set up in Florida, US. The main functions of the centre are:
• collecting all the information on aid outside the Order's organisations in Latin America
• acting as intermediary between those needing aid and those offering it
• helping to develop projects
• organising transport for sending aid.
6.5 OTHER CO-ORDINATION MEASURES
To improve Co-ordination, the following procedures have been adopted:
• Appointment of a co-ordinator for a determinate area of intervention
• Appointment of a given body of the Order to be responsible for a given region
• Appointment of CIOMAL as body responsible for the fight against leprosy
• Co-ordination of the requests for financing to the Commission of the EC, to be collected by the Order's ambassador to the European Commission
• In future, the main relief interventions in disasters will be co-ordinated through ECOM.

Zaire. A vehicle of the Order's Emergency Corps greeted by a group of children as it arrives in a refugee camp set up on the Rwandese borders by the German Relief Corps (MHD).

7. ECOM (Emergency Corps of the Order of Malta)
The permanent secretariat of ECOM has been installed in the Foreign Service of the German Malteser Hilfsdienst. ECOM's range of activities mainly involve first-aid to people, and especially women and children, in disaster-struck areas.
The idea of ECOM is to be able to respond in a flexible and suitable manner to various types of disaster and emergency situations. The Emergency Relief Detachment, main tool of ECOM in the field, is structured around various teams, called Operational Modules, including:
• Mobile Ambulance Units
• Detached Medical Units
• Kitchen and Food Supply Units
• Housing Units
• Water Purification Units
In most cases, these modules are planned to interact with each other, albeit some of them are able to work independently.

8. PRESENCE IN CRISIS AREAS
The Order's presence in crisis areas has been extended to the Lebanon, El Salvador, the border areas of Afghanistan, the frontier regions of the Sudan, Chad, Iraq, Romania during the revolution, Lithuania, and above all in the territories of the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda.
8.1 TERRITORY OF THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
In August 1991, the Order had already started its relief activities with the creation of a co-ordination centre in Zagreb. This prompt involvement was particularly useful in helping to forge bonds of trust in areas at a time when the war had not yet reached its present dimensions, and in particular when they were still unharmed. It is extremely difficult to estimate the total value of the aid the Order has provided for the former Yugoslavia and the sum of US$ 150,000,000 does not seem exaggerated. Considerable financial aid has also been given by the European Commission as well as the German and Austrian governments.

back to previous page
next page
back to summary