We would like to publicly thank the council and members of the Grand Commandery of the Castello, a jurisdiction of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem, for their recent donation of £7,800 for the purchase of an iBreast Exam (IBE) by Women in Need, a UK charity operating in Nagpur, India.

The IBE will enable the charity to provide breast cancer screening in remote villages in Wardha District, where only six per cent of underprivileged Indian women know about breast cancer and fewer still have access to screening. With 2,000 cases detected every day in India, this device will be instrumental in saving lives.

For the past eight years, Women in Need has been the recipient of support from the Grand Commandery of the Castello, based in Castello Lanzun, Mensija, San Ġwann. Donations raised have gone towards the following: a mobileprimary health clinic in Nagpur’s urban slums; a small hospice for elderly leprosy patients in Wardha; beds and equipment for abandoned women sheltered by Women in Need; a garden for abandoned women; capital equipment such as computer, projector, screen, water filter and office furniture.

We would like to appeal to readers to support the Grand Commandery of the Castello so it can continue in its mission to relieve the suffering of those with leprosy and victims of disease, neglect, abuse and poverty.

Donations can be made to: Bank of Valletta Plc – Euro account MT34VALL22013000000040018632226; GBP account MT36VALL 22013000000040018632190; BIC – VALLMTMT.