On 21^st April 2018 crew members of EU NAVFOR’s Spanish warship ESPS Meteoro donated food, school supplies and clothing to the Caritas Orphanage in Djibouti.

ESPS Meteoro has recently arrived in the Horn of Africa to take over counter-piracy patrolling duties from ESPS Patiño as part of EU NAVFOR’s Operation Atalanta. She was conducting a port visit of Djibouti at the time to take on board supplies.

EU NAVFOR is committed to supporting humanitarian assistance efforts to promote stability and lasting regional solutions. EU NAVFOR has seen the safe delivery of over 1.7 million tonnes of food aid and critical supplies to displaced persons in the region. The EU is a leading humanitarian donor to Somalia, having provided €119 million in emergency assistance in 2017, and spending over €1.2 billion on development and capacity building since Op Atalanta started in 2008.

Caritas Orphanage, part of the Djibouti charity, runs a daytime drop-in centre in Djibouti for the most vulnerable children, especially migrant and street children. The charity contributes emergency humanitarian aid to combat food shortages and the dire consequences of conflicts and natural disasters striking neighbouring countries such as Somalia and Ethiopia.

ESPS Meteoro has now departed from Djibouti and is continuing her mission to deter, prevent and repress piracy and to protect World Food Programme and merchant vessels transiting through the Somali Basin.