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Cologne. "It's still cold and we are in urgent need of food, gasoline and fuel oil", reports Caelina Mauer, director of the children's home in Ichinoseki, in the north of Japan. Malteser International, the relief service of the Order of Malta for worldwide humanitarian aid, supports this children's home and has immediately provided 10,000 Euros from its emergency funds so that those items that are most urgently needed can be purchased as soon as possible for the 60 children and 31 staff. "The children will need a lot of time in order to cope with their experience of this disaster," the Franciscan nun asserts.
The means provided by Malteser International are also intended to help replace the glass panes and finance further repairs necessary for security reasons.
Since the earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale and the ensuing tsunami hit Japan last Fri-day, Malteser International has been in close contact with the Caritas and partners in the country – the Jesuits, the Franciscans and Tokyo's Catholic University. Malteser International will provide support through local partners, like catholic parishes and the children's home. „Malteser Interna-tional and the international network of the Order of Malta are thinking about further signs of soli-darity", says Ingo Radtke, Secretary General of Malteser International.
Help support the relief efforts in Japan – please donate!
Malteser International is the worldwide relief agency of the Sovereign Order of Malta for humanitar-ian aid. The organisation provides aid in about 200 projects in more than 20 countries without dis-tinction of religion, race or political persuasion. Christian values and the humanitarian principles of impartiality and independence are the foundation of its work. For further information: www.malteser-international.org and www.orderofmalta.org
