The Journal of Hope is MI Americas’ bi-annual bulletin, sent by mail to our donors. Here, we provide a compact update on all the major highlights from our programs, and profile lifechanging stories of the people we serve and work with.

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On the Front Lines

At 9 a.m. on September 25, Zuleidys, a Venezuelan migrant living in Colombia’s underserved Milagros 2 neighborhood, unexpectedly went into labor with her second child. In shock, Zuleidys’ neighbors ran to the one place they knew they could get safe and reliable care: Malteser International Americas’ (MI Americas) Santa Marta mobile medical brigade.

Our MI Americas team, going about their daily appointments in general medicine and prenatal care, immediately knew what to do. Proceeding with caution, and accompanied by their medical and psychosocial professionals, they approached the house where Zuleidys was giving birth.

While we’ve implemented major safety protocols as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have never lost sight of the needs of our beneficiaries: there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Thanks to your support, we’re able to give every patient the care they deserve.

In Zuleidys’ case, our initial plan was to transport her rapidly to our medical facilities. But Zuleidys wanted to remain at her mother’s house. Even though the zinc-tiled house was in poor condition, this was where Zuleidys felt safe. Our team respected her wishes, and delivered a healthy baby boy named Thiannys without any complications. Later, our team followed up with postnatal care, including registration of the newborn.

Enabling MI Americas to assist at Thiannys’ birth is just one example of the difference your support makes. By working through MI Americas you’re contributing to a community-based care approach that is not only effective, but essential during these times of the pandemic.

Food Security in Cité Soleil, Haiti

With your help, Malteser International Americas (MI Americas) is hard at work in Cité Soleil, Haiti, focusing on increasing food security and awareness about the benefits of nutrition and balanced diets.

Located in Port-au-Prince, Cité Soleil, one of largest slums in the Northern Hemisphere, has swollen to more than a quarter million residents. Many live on less than $2 per day, and 66% are food insecure. The consequences of resulting malnutrition are severe, particularly for children. Living amid political instability gang violence, and rampant inflation takes an extra-heavy toll on residents of Cité Soleil. Covid-19 has further strained the community.

But in 2019, well before the pandemic hit, Malteser International Americas with your support set out to identify and help in the slum’s six poorest areas. Our effort to increase community members’ ability to sustain themselves included distributing goats to 645 families and chickens to 150 families, and building 1,000 household gardens and 20 larger community gardens. To date, we estimate that more than 4,000 individuals have directly benefited – and continue to benefit – from these efforts.

In July 2020, with your help and the support of Germany’s Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, we were able to renew and expand this project. Working closely with community leaders, we coordinated trainings on planting, harvesting, and developing seedlings. Recently, the same community members who planted their seeds last year reaped their first harvest of cassava, spinach, and other vegetables.

Even as these gains bring hope, food systems in Haiti remain precarious for the poor. But with your help, we’ll continue our efforts to reduce food insecurity in Cité Soleil as well as working to improve healthcare and hygiene. Thank you for caring and helping!

A Word from MI Americas Executive Director, Ravi Tripptrap

In a World of Covid-19, Your Help is a Blessing

In 2020 we faced a global humanitarian crisis together. With your assistance, we expanded our programs to reach people in need across the world. Grounded in the conviction that all life is precious, we responded quickly to the pandemic and nearly doubled the volume of our programs.

 

At home in the U.S., we witnessed suffering and hunger in our communities and responded with donations of food and personal protective equipment to parishes and pantries across the Eastern Seaboard. As a second wave of COVID-19 threatened New York City, we launched a flu vaccination clinic for the homeless and the elderly. Through a partnership with the Archdiocese of New York and volunteers from the Order of Malta American Association, we reached hundreds in need and plan to expand the program.

 

Vaccination campaigns are one of the oldest and most effective humanitarian activities. From smallpox to polio, vaccines are a fundamental tool of public health, and Catholic organizations like Malteser International Americas have a long history of working with governments and communities to provide vaccines to the vulnerable. Our experience with the flu shot clinic laid the foundation for MI Americas to help in the massive COVID-19 vaccination efforts that will be needed in 2021.

 

With your help, we reached more than 250,000 people in the Americas last year. We are grateful to know that we can overcome great tragedies with your support, and we look forward to continuing to be ambassadors of hope where hope is so urgently needed. Thank you for making our good work possible!

Ravi Tripptrap is the Executive Director of
Malteser International Americas.

Making Safe Maternity Care Possible in Colombia

Many Venezuelan women arrive in Colombia seeking a safe place to give birth. Years of neglect and the erosion of the Venezuelan health system has resulted in a lack of trust in local public hospitals. Shortages of qualified personnel, medication and equipment are made worse by chronic power outages. While Colombia provides emergency care for migrants and refugees, comprehensive maternity care – both prenatal and postnatal – is extremely difficult to secure. To make matters worse, many hospitals do not accept patients without the proper documents. Many fleeing Venezuela have lost their identification documents during the perilous journey to Colombia.

Malteser International Americas (MI Americas) has been committed to safe and equitable maternity care in Colombia for several years, including supporting midwife training programs for indigenous Wayuu women. With the arrival of the new immigrant population, it seemed natural and necessary to expand our initiatives. Your support has made that possible. While the maternity program was housed in a clinic in Riohacha, we expanded the program in 2020 to Santa Marta. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we adapted the program by making mobile visits.

In fact, MI Americas is the only humanitarian organization currently operating mobile clinics. Our medical team does evaluations, screenings, and vaccinations in hard-to-reach poor neighborhoods. Thank YOU for making this important program possible!

Supporter Spotlight:

Rick Jones, KM, and Patty Jones

Patty and I were reflecting on when I became a Knight of the Order in October of 2013 – it was during the Formation and Investiture that we learned of the great work of Malteser International, the global humanitarian relief arm of the Order of Malta.

We were excited to discover that they focus on the most vulnerable and underserved in the world and are the voice for the voiceless. This is what attracted us to the organization and why we support Malteser International every year.

Knowing that there are experienced individuals at Malteser International who devote their lives to serving the sick and the poor fills me with great pride. I am proud to be part of such a committed and serving organization. I have deep trust that Malteser International shares the same charism and motivation that led us to join the Order.

Tom Wessels, the President of Malteser International Americas, has provided me with a greater understanding of how and where Malteser International works. On our many retreats together, I was inspired to hear his goals for the organization and how they help hundreds of thousands of women, children, and families out of poverty through sustainable long-term programming.

Since I don’t have the time or temperament to serve in developing countries, I have deep trust knowing that Malteser International has the resources and expertise to help build sustainable communities. I continue to be inspired hearing about their programs and I think Malteser International makes the work of the Order – assistance to the poor and the suffering – REAL.

I urge others to generously support the work of Malteser International because by supporting them, it adds a dimension of substance to who we are and spiritually to what we do.”

-As told to Ellen Powers

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