L'Orma dicembre 2018 de la Orden de Malta

L'Orma Dicembre 2018

Fra' Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto Gran Maestre de la Soberana Orden de Malta

El Consejo de Estado de la Orden de Malta, el órgano electivo compuesto por 54 miembros que representan a toda la institución, ha elegido a Fra' Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto como 80° Gran Maestre de la Soberana Orden de Malta tras reunirse en la mañana de este miércoles en la Villa Magistral en Roma, sede institucional de la orden. Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, que había sido elegido como nuevo Lugarteniente del Gran Maestre de la Soberana Orden Militar de Malta el pasado 29 de abril de 2017, asumirá ahora el cargo de Gran Maestre de por vida.

El Papa Francisco ha sido informado por carta del resultado de la votación. Posteriormente, la elección fue comunicada a todos los Grandes Prioratos, los Subprioratos y las Asociaciones Nacionales de la Orden, a sus representaciones diplomáticas en el mundo y a los de los 107 Estados con los que la Soberana Orden de Malta mantiene relaciones diplomáticas. Está previsto que Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto jure su cargo ante el Delegado Especial del Papa ante la Soberana Orden de Malta, el Arzobispo Angelo Becciu y ante los miembros del Consejo de Estado este jueves por la mañana en la iglesia de Santa María en Aventino.

Según ha informado la Orden de Malta en un comunicado, el nuevo Gran Maestre "reafirmó su deseo de continuar el trabajo para la reforma de la Constitución de la Orden de Malta lanzada en 2017, para adaptarlo al notable desarrollo que la Orden ha experimentado en las últimas décadas". Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto es un diplomático, religioso, profesor, filólogo, arqueólogo e historiador italiano. Nacido en Roma el día 9 de diciembre de 1944, desciende de una antigua familia noble proveniente de la ciudad de Treviso. Su familia ha estado siempre muy vinculada a la Santa Sede; entre sus antepasados se incluye a su abuelo, que era editor del periódico L'Osservatore Romano y a su hermano Giuseppe Dalla Torre, que es un destacado jurista y actual Presidente del Tribunal de la Ciudad del Vaticano.

Nuevo Gran Maestre de la Orden de Malta

Baile benéfico de la Orden de Malta

Un año más la Asociación Española de la Orden de Malta organiza su baile para recaudar fondos destinados a sus obras hospitalarias. “Frente a un mundo en el que las dificultades económicas son un hecho, el llamamiento de los que sufren – los pobres, los enfermos, los sin techo, los desplazados internos, los refugiados, los discapacitados, los ancianos – se hace más urgente. Nosotros, como miembros de una orden religiosa laica con la tradición secular de asistir a los pobres y los enfermos, somos conscientes de la necesidad de atender a nuestro prójimo. Ésta ha sido nuestra misión desde nuestra fundación, y sigue siendo hoy nuestra misión y nuestro objetivo”. Frey Matthew Festing, 79° Gran Maestre.

Fra' Andrew Bertie, inicio de su canonización

Obras internacionales de la Orden de Malta

Think big, start small – this advice for aspiring entrepreneurs can also be applied to many of our projects around the world. By starting with the local community and then preparing them to pay it forward, we can create a snowball effect of solidarity – whether it is through a new reconstruction project in Cuba that also trains humanitarian workers for the next disaster, a neighbourhood association in a Haitian slum setting an example for a healthy and dignified life, or a group of promising health professionals in South Sudan who will help shape the future of health care in their nation. Enjoy your reading!

Nine months ago, Hurricane Sandy swept through the Caribbean and the U.S. Atlantic coast, leaving behind a path of death and destruction. In Cuba, the category 2 hurricane made landfall on 25 October 2012, and although the population was warned hours before, many were not prepared for the intensity of the storm. Santiago de Cuba, the country’s second largest city, was directly hit by the storm and suffered the most damages. 11 people died, 185,000 houses were severely damaged, and 15,000 houses were completely destroyed. Many families are still homeless today.

Malteser International, together with the Cuban Association of the Order of Malta and the Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba, is helping rebuild 61 severely damaged homes for more than 300 residents in the most affected regions. The organization will supply roofing and construction materials as well as replace damaged home furnishings such as mattresses, sheets and basic household appliances.

In addition, Malteser International will help train the helpers of its Cuban partners. “We would like to help them develop their knowledge on the principles of humanitarian aid,” explains Michael Thanner, program manager for Cuba at Malteser International. For this purpose, Malteser International will conduct workshops on the SPHERE project, an internationally recognized set of common principles and universal standards for humanitarian response. “These trainings will serve to streamline the local helpers’ efforts and to provide them with relevant knowledge about disasters, as they will continue to strike the island in the future,” Thanner added.

Cité Soleil, Haiti’s largest slum in the outskirts of capital Port-au-Prince, is plagued by a bad reputation that is all too common for poor neighborhoods: it is known as a dirty and dangerous area. But now, a neighborhood association is inviting outsiders to see Cité Soleil in a different light. “La Difference” is an area of the slum where the streets are clean and the residents do their share to improve the living conditions in the neighborhood. On the last June weekend, La Difference, Malteser International and other local partner organizations organized a fair where food producers, craftsmen, artists and young performers came together to show the wealth of talent their neighborhood has to offer. 

Under the motto “Klere Site'n, Klere Kilti'n” (clean city, bright culture), the event combined cultural activities and exhibitions with raising awareness of pressing social issues. Malteser International was present with activities to promote hygiene and mobilize the community to prevent diseases such as cholera. The organization provided handwashing stations for the nearly 3,000 participants, set up waste collection bins around the neighborhood, distributed flyers and showed videos with practical advice on improving hygiene.

“I really appreciate and encourage these activities in our neighborhood,” said a food vendor at the fair about Malteser International’s work. “It helps us to improve the hygiene conditions. The food I’m selling here has been prepared with treated water, since I had received a hygiene kit with soap and water treatment tabs from Malteser International to prevent certain diseases that can be found in food, if it is not thoroughly cooked.”  With the support of the European Union, Malteser International has been working in Cité Soleil to build up the capacity of the local population both in the areas of water, sanitation and hygiene as well as in disaster risk reduction.  

Even as South Sudan celebrated its second Independence Day on 9 July, the country continues to face major hurdles on its path to development. In a country with some of the poorest health indicators in the world, progress in the health sector continues to be very slow. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of qualified health professionals in the country.

In Rumbek, the capital of Lakes State in central South Sudan, Malteser International is working to change this situation. Since late May, Malteser International has been managing the newly formed Rumbek Health Training School (RHTS), which merges Malteser International’s laboratory training school with Rumbek’s nursing school. “We hope that, by merging the two schools, we will be able to improve the quality of the training and the students’ performance,” says Brigitte Podborny, country coordinator for Malteser International in South Sudan.

The RHTS is expected to produce at least 106 qualified graduates (48 nurses and 58 laboratory technicians) by early 2016. With a total of 9 tutors and clinical instructors, the three-year program also counts on an optimal student-teacher ratio.

“We hope Malteser International will advance the RHTS to become a well-recognized training school,” said Samuel Maketh, training director at the South Sudan’s Ministry of Health, at the school’s opening ceremony. “The focus is on creating an enabling learning and teaching environment for both students and tutors.”The European Union is supporting the project with 1.7 million euros for the duration of 3 years. Malteser International is managing the school under the guidance of the State Ministry of Health for Lakes, and in partnership with the national Ministry of Health. 

Before the merging of the schools, Malteser International had already been running Rumbek’s medical laboratory training school since 2002. 85 laboratory technicians graduated from the program.