SEVERAL rescue teams from Slovakia will take part in rescue efforts in Haiti following the earthquake that devastated its residents and caused severe damage to the island’s infrastructure in mid-January.
A team of health-care workers from the St Elisabeth University of Healthcare and Social Work in Bratislava arrived in the capital of the island, Port-au-Prince, on January 20 and immediately started rescue operations, the SITA newswire reported, adding that rescuers in Haiti are working in extreme conditions about 18 hours a day and are daily saving the lives of around 50 people.
The Slovak team brought along about 300 kilograms of medications.
Another team of 16 Slovak rescuers was expected to depart from Paris on January 23. A smaller team of volunteers from the Association of Samaritans of Slovakia is also leaving for Haiti along with their Austrian colleagues, the ČTK newswire reported.
Slovakia will also contribute with material humanitarian help: large-capacity tents, folding beds, sleeping bags and blankets. The Foreign Affairs Ministry has assigned €50,000 from the Slovak Agency for International Development, known as SlovakAid, for Haiti, ČTK reported.
