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Cologne. Since June, Malteser International with the financial support of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany has been providing mobile water tank vehicles in order to improve the constant shortages of drinking water available in the camps in Vavuniya in the north and in Pulmoddai in the northeast of Sri Lanka. "Together with our local partner Sarvodaya we can provide urgently needed help in the overcrowded camps. Our teams reach the affected people directly and can also convey comfort and give advice", informs Nicolas de Cock de Rameyen, President of Malteser International. At present about 300,000 Tamils are living in the camps.
More than 4,800 families are provided with hygiene articles such as soap, tooth brushes, towels, combs and potties for the youngest.
Volunteers trained by Malteser International give advice to the displaced concerning simple yet necessary hygiene measures such as washing their hands with soap and the safe preparation of baby formula. Undernourished children are provided with additional vitamin supplements.
Malteser International welcomes the recent improvement of access to the camps for international relief organisations, which was enabled by regular appeals to the Sri Lankan government. "The internally displaced persons, however, should soon be able to return to their villages and their homes. The heat and the heavy rainfalls make their life in the camps a misery", de Cock continues.
Malteser International hopes that in the event of these optional returns the Sri Lankan government will also continue the process of reconciliation between Tamils and Singhalese.
Since the beginning of March 2009 Malteser International, with financial support from the Federal Foreign Office of Germany has already spent nearly half a million Euros of aid, to help improve the situation in the IDP camps.
Nevertheless, the numerous internally displaced persons are continually in urgent need of support:
Join our network of relief and donate:
Donation Account 2020122;
Pax-Bank Köln, von-Werth-Str. 25-27, D-50670 Köln, Germany,
Sort Code : 370 60 193; IBAN : DE93 3706 0193 0002 0201 22; BIC: GENODED1PAX
Reference : "Sri Lanka"
Donate online: www.malteser-spenden.de
Attention editors: Dr. Juergen Clemens, Malteser International Desk Officer Sri Lanka, is available for interviews. Contact: +49- (0)221/9822-155.
Malteser International is the worldwide relief agency of the Sovereign Order of Malta for humanitarian aid. The organisation provides aid in about 200 projects in more than 20 countries without distinction 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
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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