5 March 2010 - MERCY Malaysia will deploy a two-member team to Santiago, Chile in response to the magnitude-8.8 earthquake which struck near the coast of the south-central region on 27 February.

The team is led by MERCY Malaysia’s Head of Relief Operations, Dr Paul Mettler, accompanied by an Executive Council member, Dr Heng Aik Cheng.

They will be conducting an on-the-ground assessment to determine the humanitarian needs within the affected region.

“We are responding to the international call for help from the Government of Chile,” said MERCY Malaysia President, Dr Ahmad Faizal Perdaus.

“Our initial disaster assessment team to Chile will ascertain the level of devastation, destroyed infrastructure and health needs of the quake-affected people. Our team will revert on how MERCY Malaysia can best assist the emergency response on the ground there,” he added.

“We have been constantly updated by our local contact in Chile, and with his assistance our team will be able to see how we can best help in the most cost-effective manner,” he said.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), immediate priorities in Chile continue to be search and rescue, medical services, shelter, food and water, transport, communications and the restoration of basic services.

The team will leave for Santiago by 6 March 2010, Saturday afternoon via Malaysia Airlines.

Concerned individuals and organisations can donate to the Chile Relief Fund through the following bank accounts:
MAYBANK (account name: MERCY HUMANITARIAN FUND, account number : 5621-7950-4126, ABA Swift Code: MBBEMYKLA), or
CIMB Bank (account name: MERCY Malaysia, account number: 1424-000-6561053, ABA Swift Code: CIBBMYKL).

Donations via cheque are payable to MERCY MALAYSIA.

MERCY Malaysia continued its partnership with The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Refugee Agency, and ran 11 mobile clinics in Klang to offer primary healthcare to the stateless as well as marginalized communities.

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