The origins of SOS Malta commenced within the field of overseas humanitarian and development work. SOS Malta has operated various relief missions and development projects in various overseas countries. It has also taken up a number of initiatives both locally and abroad to promote the MDGs and development policy.
SOS Malta came into being in 1991, after the tragic exodus of Albanian refugees to the shores of Italy and Malta. It was then a voluntary organisation set up under the auspice of the Emigrants Commission, with the objective of assisting materially and morally Albanian refugees and their people in need, especially through projects of a social and charitable nature. Throughout the 1990's SOS Malta was active in Albania and Kosovo, working in the fields of Palliative Care, Education, and Community Development. On an emergency level SOS Malta was also involved in managing a Refugee Camp during the Kosovo crisis in 1999 and in the repatriation of refugees.
In 2004, SOS Malta formed part of the Malta Tsunami Humanitarian Mission to Sri Lanka, where it set up a fully operational clinic in Matara, Sri Lanka, offering immediate medical relief to over 3000 persons. The SOS Malta medical team also visited local displaced people in the camps to offer medical aid and other essential commodities. The NGO in turn made arrangements for medical supplies to be airlifted from Malta. SOS Malta also sort to provide recovery and sustainable livelihood assistance, and managed to help over 600 families in various villages by rebuilding their income-generating activities. It also assisted with the reconstruction and refurbishment of St Mary's Convent School Matara. Small-scale livelihood projects in Sri Lanka continue to be supported by SOS Malta to date.
Mayanmar and Palestine featured among the latest humanitarian interventions made by SOS Malta, in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
Furthermore, in recent years, SOS Malta has focused on water-related poverty issues, building significant expertise in rain-water harvesting solutions and applying it within countries like India and Sri Lanka. SOS Malta is now planning to take this expertise to Ethiopia, Africa.
For more information about the various humanitarian and development projects which SOS Malta has been involved in, refer to the list of geographical areas listed in the right menu.
Development education & raising awareness on development
Throughout the 1990s, SOS Malta gave talks in schools in Malta and Overseas about its work in Albania and Kosovo, and promoted the concept of volunteerism towards facilitating emergency aid and relief missions, as well as attaining sustainable development within communities.
Since the year 2002, SOS Malta adopted an even stronger role in initiatives aimed at creating awareness about the Millennium Development Goals and development issues. The organization is to date involved in various transnational projects.
For more information about the various projects, click on development awareness in the right menu