RTL presenter and vice chairman of the "Stiftung RTL - Wir helfen Kindern" foundation, Wolfram Kons, symbolically presented I.S.A.R. Germany with a donation cheque. I.S.A.R. President Dr Daniela Lesmeister was delighted with the help. She thanked Kons and RTL sponsor Matthias Steiner for their commitment. Both had campaigned for the project at the "RTL - Wir helfen Kindern Spendenmarathon". Olympic champion Steiner had seen the work of the voluntary I.S.A.R. team for himself last year during an exercise in Weeze.
With regard to the "Mother and Child Module" currently being created, Daniela Lesmeister said: "Our experience over the last 15 years has shown that there is a particular lack of assistance for pregnant women, newborns and small children after natural disasters. With the module supported by "RTL-Wir helfen Kindern", we can now make a major contribution to closing this gap in care."
The mother and child module is run by volunteers from Germany in disaster areas. This includes paediatricians, specialists, anaesthetists, gynaecologists, midwives and nursing staff. The module also includes special equipment for the medical care of women and children. It also carries baby food for the care of newborn babies. "Mothers who are in poor health themselves are often unable to feed their newborns and infants (sufficiently)," explains Lesmeister.
The mother-child module will be ready for deployment within a few hours. Depending on the requirements and needs of the country affected by the disaster, it can either be deployed together with the existing rapid response teams (Search and Rescue or Medical) or on its own. The emergency team has a strength of 10 to 30 people and can work autonomously in disaster areas for up to 30 days. The aim is to hand over the equipment and the established structures to local doctors at the end of the mission in order to ensure sustainability.