Social Assistance

Upholding human dignity by reaching out to the excluded

In every country of the world the same people are isolated by society – the homeless, prisoners, ethnic minorities, drug addicts – and there are those who can be pushed to its fringes, such as the elderly and disabled. The Order of Malta’s centuries-old mission of care reaches out to the excluded through its social assistance projects. It intervenes in situations of social ostracism, such as afflicts the Dalit ethnic group in India, and promotes programmes for social integration for Roma people in several European countries. Traditional soup kitchens running for many years in Hungary, Great Britain, Spain and Bulgaria – among other countries – have expanded to cater for refugees and migrants arriving from Africa and the Middle East. In Lithuania young volunteers pay regular visits to elderly people living alone in meager conditions and great poverty. The International Camp for Young Disabled has been running for over thirty years and takes place each summer in a different country. There is a place for all volunteers who want to be part of the Order of Malta’s wide spectrum of social care.