Twenty-three-year-old Ronnie Agius expresses his feelings with a paintbrush.
One of his designs was chosen by the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity for this year's Christmas cards. He is only one of around 400 persons receiving a service from the Eden Foundation.
Ronnie had to give up university and go to Eden following a traffic accident when he was 18. Eden is giving Ronnie and the others a sense of usefulness in life.
The Eden Foundation was among the beneficiaries of last year's l-Istrina, the charity fundraising telethon. It was one of a number of organisations visited on Friday by the organisers of the programme to see what was being done with the money donated by the public, which topped a million liri last year - a target also set for this year's l-Istrina, which will be held today from 11 a.m. to midnight.
The major l-Istrina beneficiary is the Malta Community Chest Fund (MCCF), chaired by Mrs Mary Fenech Adami, the President's wife. It in turn donates the funds it receives to organisations and individuals in need.
Mrs Fenech Adami on Friday joined part of the tour arranged by l-Istrina's organisers.
She said that in the past three years the MCCF was given a total of Lm1,212,376 from l-Istrina - Lm296,245 in 2001, Lm425,953 in 2002 and Lm490,178 last year.
A total of Lm139,000 went to organisations, with the major beneficiary being Id-Dar tal-Providenza, the Siggiewi home for the disabled, which received Lm58,000.
The other Lm856,467 went to individuals, the bulk of which - Lm359,467 - to assist 582 people receive medical treatment abroad.
Some beneficiaries of l-Istrina received further support from the MCCF.
The Eden Foundation used l-Istrina money to fund the building of a new wing and various other therapeutic services.
This wing will now be housing the foundation's creative arts centre. The building which housed this centre will be turned into a wing for adults where they will receive employment training and where the foundation's co-operative will be housed.
Founder Dr Josie Muscat said that 80 adults who attended the foundation were working regularly, giving up their state pension. Since they started working, the country saved Lm1 million in pensions.
Eden also had another 10 adults working in a co-operative and 40 who were awaiting a job placement.
The foundation was launched 12 years ago and its aims were to bring out the potential of people society would have rejected, making them feel achievers.
The foundation had another wing to complete and money from this year's l-Istrina would go towards the funding of this building. Eden, which had 150 employees and had a wage bill of Lm400,000 a year, was also on the lookout for companies and individuals to sponsor rooms.
Another l-Istrina beneficiary was the Daniel Delicata Foundation, which used the Lm12,500 it was given to rehabilitate the children's ward at the Gozo Hospital.
New plumbing and electricity systems were installed together with Internet points next to each bed, making the ward much nicer than that of major children's hospitals overseas.
The Park of Friendship used l-Istrina money on a multisensory room including equipment. This room, is to open in the first quarter of next year. The beneficiaries will get physical activity, social integration and mind stimulation. This room would be used by the more than a thousand people already receiving services from the park.
The Little Sisters of the Poor used l-Istrina money to partly fund the building of the home for the elderly in Hamrun, including a new dining room and new chapel designed for the elderly.
The Children Cancer Support Group bought special beds and ancillary equipment to be used by children with cancer, and Caritas funded the rental and refurbishment of a home for drug addicts who ended up without a roof over their head.
At the Millennium Chapel, an extension, including a conference room, games room and a variety of meeting rooms, was built and the Emigrants' Commission rehabilitated a home for refugee families and children.
Another beneficiary, the YMCA, used l-Istrina funds to rehabilitate a house in Valletta for homeless individuals and families.
Of the money collected in today's l-Istrina, the MCCF will receive 50 per cent, the Malta Cancer Foundation 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 Foundation, the Richmond Foundation and the Eden Foundation will each be getting 2.5 per cent, and 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.
The event will be broadcast in its entirety on TVM from 11 a.m., with links at certain times to Super One and Net TV.
Lm230,000 worth of gifts, including a Lm40,000 flat in Gozo, cars, boats, mobile phones, plasma TV sets and iPods will be given to people making donations.