On 13.2.2010, after several years of waiting, the Lithuanian Samaritan organisation in Ukmergé succeeded in being able to festively inaugurate the new social centre where they will run a Samaritan office and offer a wide range of social services such as advice for socially handicapped people, youths and senior citizens, charity shop, sewing room and food bank. The regional organisation of the ASB Germany Central Hesse was involved in the search for the new premises and also present at the opening.

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On February 27, 2010 the 17th Open Championships of the ASB Berlin took place in the Helmut Behrendt-pool in Berlin-Marzahn. A highlight was the programme of the lifesaving teams which showed good swimming skills as well as first aid skills. The water rescue service as an important specialist service unit of the ASB Germany contributes extensively to voluntary work, civil protection and rescue service and will be supported more intensely in the future.

17th Berlin Championship

ASB water rescue service, emergency planning dept.

The ASB Germany is currently assessing the situation after a huge 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile on February 27, 2010. 'Our forces in Nicaragua and Honduras stand ready to support relief operations in Chile’ said Edith Wallmeier, head of the ASB Foreign Aid in Cologne. The ASB is a member of ‘Aktion Deutschland Hilft’, a relief coalition which is responding to the earthquake with an initial €50,000 pledge for relief operations. Map: ReliefWeb

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The Samaritan organisation in Austria calls for an equitable distribution of burdens in Austria as well as an increase of the budget for development cooperation and disaster relief. According to ‚Statistik Austria’ over one million Austrians were in danger of becoming impoverished in 2008. In Europe one in five children lives in poverty.

“It is time to expand the ‘European Economic Community’ to a ‘European Social Community", demands ASBÖ president Franz Schnabl.

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50 tents for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti were provided by the White Cross South Tyrol. On 29 January 2010 the tents were loaded onto a truck at the headquarters of the White Cross in Bolzano to be sent overland from the international airport in Santo Domingo to Haiti. ‘A small contribution of South Tyrol to alleviate the suffering of the earthquake victims,’ said Landeshauptmann Luis Durnwalder.

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112 is the single European emergency phone number, available everywhere in the EU, free of charge. The European Commission has recently re-launched the 112 website in various languages to raise awareness about this number. You can call 112 to contact any national emergency service, in any EU country, from fixed phones, including public payphones, or mobile phones and free of charge. The website offers all information, a promotional page  and a ‘kids corner’. Link to the 112 pages on your website.

EU 112 website

promotional pages

Three Member States, Spain, Belgium and Hungary, have agreed on a joint work programme for their EU presidencies over the next 18 months. The Council is no longer chaired by the current head of government but by Belgian Herman Van Rompuy who had previously been appointed the first permanent President of the European Council under the Treaty of Lisbon. Major priorities are the revision of the Lisbon Strategy and the European Employment Strategy (EES).

work programme

website of Spanish Presidency

This Friday, 22 January, the Slovakian (ASSR) and Austrian (ASBÖ) Samaritan organisations despatch a common emergency team to the disaster region in Haiti that will provide the affected population with basic medical supply. As from 14 January an assessment team of the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Germany (ASB) is on site. On 23 January a second ASB emergency specialist will be despatched for an evaluation of projects. On 25 January an ASB emergency team will follow to support a medical post in Jimani. Furthermore, an emergency specialist of ASF-Dansk Folkehjaelp is on site in order to plan Danish relief measures.

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After the devastating earthquake that hit Caribbean's Island Haiti on 12 January the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB) Germany sends 50,000 Euros in emergency funding and despatched a doctor and an emergency specialist to the disaster region to assess the needs of the people. Help also comes from Vienna. Mag. Gerhard Kovatsch from the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASBÖ) Austria is already on site for a first damage assessment in order to plan relief measures as well as for subsequent reconstruction and recovery planning efforts.

ASB Germany

ASBÖ Austria

On 1 January, an impressive light and sound display ushered in the Spanish Presidency of the European Union in Madrid. During the six-months-term of the Spanish Presidency of the EU under the motto ‘Innovation in Europe’ attempts to achieve economic recovery will be the key objective, said Prime Minister Zapatero.

Web site of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union