The public was yesterday offered a glimpse of the work of Razzett tal-Ħbiberija during a 12-hour charity event to raise money for the Marsascala organisation.

Around €55,500 was raised until 11p.m. through the televised marathon - Charity 12.

The aim of the event was to raise awareness of the organisation's programmes for people with a disability while raising funds to go towards the €1 million (Lm429,300) in annual expenses. The organisers were hoping to raise some €200,000 (Lm85,860).

Regular clips depicting the life of people with a disability and how they were helped by Razzett were shown during the event.

However, the fundraising event was lambasted by the Maltese Council of Disabled Persons which criticised adverts promoting Charity 12 for giving the impression that having an impairment was a tragedy.

The council said whether disabled people could do things or not did not depend on their impairment, but on the "disabling obstacles and attitudes we face on a daily basis".

Reacting to the statement, Razzett said the criticism was "unfair and unjust". It explained that the organisation's mission was to improve the quality of life of people with physical and learning disabilities by focusing on the individual's abilities and promoting inclusion and independence.

It said the promotional material referred by the council was designed to show the public the challenges faced by people with disabilities and that most of these difficulties were created by society itself. It also served to showcase the hard work undertaken by the organisation, its staff and volunteers to enhance the potential of its clients.

Razzett chief executive Nathan Farrugia said he agreed with the council's views that disabled people were equally capable of achieving high levels of independence and self-worth and that equal opportunities were often restricted by policy and accessibility issues.

He said that practical solutions were necessary to ensure that the gap between the present state of affairs and the ideal is bridged.

"Our services are aimed at just that; a means of support for those who need to prepare themselves physically through our leisure facilities, mentally through our self improvement and learning activities and socially through our integrated activities for the reality of today. Services which, thanks to the generosity of the Maltese public, have no financial, physical or psychological barriers," he said.