1,000 face masks were delivered to the Westport Order of Malta unit from the Order of Malta’s Hong Kong association this week.
Little did anyone know that when an Order of Malta team from Westport working in Lourdes in May 2019, worked alongside colleagues from Hong Kong - it would result in an extraordinary act of kindness and generosity in the midst of a global health pandemic.
As has been the case for decades, members of the Westport Order of Malta unit attended the annual Order of Malta International Pilgrimage in Lourdes in May 2019. This trip sees Order of Malta colleagues from across the globe bringing sick, disabled and elderly people on a respite holiday for five days at the famous holy site each year.
In May 2019, the Westport team struck up a lasting friendship with the Hong Kong association and in particular Ben Lee, that just over a year later, has led to the provision of essential PPE supplies in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis in Mayo.
Keelan Moran, a member of the Westport unit explained: "It’s one of those things that we really never expected. As a voluntary organization, almost completely dependent on public donations, the Covid-19 emergency has had a detrimental effect on our finances. We have also found it extremely difficult to source PPE for our members working on the front line. The PPE that we can get is coming at a significant cost to the organization as well."
Moran went on to say that the team were 'overwhelmed and overcome with gratitude' when the offer came from the Hong Kong group - saying: "The Order is very different in Hong Kong. They do a lot more work with children and families living in poverty and work with students with special needs.
"They were fascinated by our front-line emergency services and ambulance operations when we met last May in Lourdes. They were even more surprised to learn that none of our members are paid and that we receive no central state funding. We’ve kept in touch ever since and when we updated them on our activity over the past couple of months, they offered to send us a shipment of face masks for use in our everyday duties."
When asked about the impact the valuable donation would have on the Order of Malta’s operations, Moran said: "To receive 1,000 high quality PPE masks has taken a huge amount of pressure off our units, not just in Westport, but across the region. We have 11 units in the North West between Mayo, Sligo, Roscommon and Leitrim who will all be receiving some of these masks.
"We’ve become accustomed to our communities really getting behind us and supporting us whenever we’re in need, but it was something really different and special to see the goodwill and friendship extend across the world."
The Order of Malta is working closely with the HSE in support of Covid-19 testing operations and remaining on stand-by to respond to emergency calls through the National Ambulance Service.
Units are also actively engaged with their local authority’s local community response fora, ensuring members of the community can travel to medical appointments and have groceries and medications delivered.
The Westport Order of Malta have set up a GoFundMe page to support their efforts, which can be accessed via their Facebook page or by contacting [email protected].
