Lm230,000 worth of prizes to be won on L-Istrina

A Lm40,000 flat in Gozo, cars, boats, mobile phones, plasma television sets and iPods are among the many prizes which can be won by people donating money during L-Istrina on Sunday.

But the attraction of the multitude of gifts is not the only reason people donate money during the annual televised charity event, organiser Peppi Azzopardi said. The Lm230,000 worth of gifts help to get people to phone in more than once to make donations, he maintained.

Money has already been collected from schoolchildren after the organising team distributed 65,000 piggy banks in schools. Mr Azzopardi said the amount, counted already, will be announced during the all-day programme.

No gifts were used to entice children to donate money. Personalities went to their former schools to pick up the piggy banks.

President Eddie Fenech Adami said the fact that the Maltese united to help their less fortunate compatriots was proof of extraordinary solidarity.

Speaking during a briefing in Palace Square yesterday, where the nine cars and two boats on offer were displayed, Dr Fenech Adami sounded convinced that the annual charity would raise more than last year's record amount of over Lm1 million.

"Everywhere you go people are talking about L-Istrina," he said.

With regard to the criticism that people donate money to have the chance of winning one of the many gifts, the President said he had no doubt that people donated out of their generosity. "Generosity and solidarity is the dominating theme," he stressed.

Mr Azzopardi said it was not the first time that a person who won a gift donated more money, or even decided to forfeit the gift, asking the organisers to use it to raise more funds. He said when the wives of the President and Prime Minister went to distribute presents at a home for the elderly one man told them to take the gift back and use it during Sunday's marathon.

The biggest beneficiary of L-Istrina is the Malta Community Chest Fund (MCCF), which will receive 50 per cent of the money collected. The Malta Cancer Foundation will be getting 12.5 per cent, while Dar il-Kaptan, Fondazzjoni Arka, the Oasi Foundation, the Little Sisters of the Poor and St Rita Home will each receive five per cent. The Equal Partners, the Richmond Foundation and the Eden Foundation will each be getting 2.5 per cent of the funds, while the Salesians of Don Bosco will be getting three per cent, the Jesuit Refugee Services one per cent and the SPCA and Reaching Out 0.5 per cent each.

Mr Azzopardi explained that the beneficiaries were chosen by a special selection committee headed by Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani Grima.

The whole event will be broadcast on TVM throughout the day, with links at certain times to Super One and Net TV.