Are You Ready to Respond?

Natural disasters – whether hurricanes, earthquakes, or storm surges – often strike people without warning. As hurricane season officially begins in June, comprehensive preparedness and training are key to respond effectively to resulting humanitarian needs and mitigate the often-devastating consequences of large-scale disasters.

To increase Malteser International Americas’ (MI Americas) response capacities when crises strike, we continuously extend our Pool of Voluntary Experts (PoE) that are trained to assess humanitarian needs and initiate our response in a disaster area. This training is a great opportunity for experienced service professionals or anyone eager to learn more about disaster response with a desire to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable communities during a time of need. Those who complete the training and are accepted into the PoE will play a key role in helping MI Americas respond quickly and efficiently to natural disasters in the Americas and worldwide.

Emergency Response Induction Course

The MI Americas’ Team will train members of the Order of Malta, Auxiliaries, and friends of the Order during a two-and-a-half-day Induction to Emergency Response Course. The course will: 1) provide an overview of MI Americas’ scope of relief and development work; 2) introduce participants to the international humanitarian aid system; 3) discuss common challenges and best practices in emergency response; 4) offers participants a practical understanding on how to support relief efforts abroad by providing the knowledge and tools to conduct needs assessments and how to initiate and to serve in relief operations.

Minimum Application Requirements: 

• Completed university degree and/or professional training in relevant fields is an asset.
• Sufficient professional experience (at least 2 years, preferably including experience abroad).
• Readiness to travel (at short notice) and commitment of at least one seven-day mission per year.
• Knowledge of Spanish, or other languages are of considerable advantage.
• Mental and physical resilience needed to work under extreme conditions anywhere in the Americas and worldwide.
• Time and willingness to deploy abroad voluntarily at short notice.
• Minimum age is 21 years.

In individual cases, these formal requirements may be waived in favor of otherwise particularly qualified candidates.

Training Dates: November 12-14, 2021

Location: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA – specific location TBC

Application Deadline: August 31, 2021

To apply, head over to our Volunteer Hub and follow the steps from there. If you are new to the hub, you will be asked to create an account: https://volunteer.orderofmaltarelief.org/