Fund-raising for Dar il-Kaptan to buy transport van for services

Fuego is aiming to raise Lm2,500 on Thursday during its annual fund raising event - Served by the Stars - in aid of Dar il-Kaptan.

As from 10 p.m., local personalities including John Bundy, Moira Delia, Andrea Cassar, Mary Rose Mallia, Xandru Grech and members of the bands Scream Daisy and Winter Moods and members of the Sliema football team will take over the running of the bar at Fuego in St Julian's.

The money will go towards purchasing a transport van for Dar il-Kaptan, which offers daily respite for families of persons with a mental or physical disability.

A spokesman for the entertainment establishment and Dar il-Kaptan explained that a day programme service was provided by the foundation during the week, and clients were collected from their own homes and taken back at the end of the day.

"This gives parents a chance to attend to their daily needs, while meeting the wishes of those parents who are reluctant to let their children sleep away from home," he said.

The spokesman said around 12 people were using Dar il-Kaptan's services on a daily basis, although the foundation could cater for twice as many. Demand for the service is high, with around 27 people wanting to make use of it, but the foundation's limited transport facilities meant that they could not physically get there.

This led to this year's fund-raising event - aptly named Wheels Appeals - to try and raise money to buy a van. He said the fact that there was only one van taking clients to and from the foundation restricted the different activities organised by it.

"The introduction of the second van will double the capacity of the daily service from 12 to 24 clients, while the transport time for clients to be taken from their home to Dar il-Kaptan and back would be decreased," the spokesman said.