Eden Foundation parents say they feel 'betrayed and insulted'

Parents of children using the services of the Eden Foundation felt betrayed and insulted that it was handed over to the Razzett tal-Ħbiberija - Park of Friendship under the excuse of a merger, Josie Muscat said yesterday.

Representing the Eden Foundation Parents' Association, Dr Muscat, who had originally set up the foundation, expressed disapproval at the merger, which, he insisted, took place without any form of consultation with the parents.

On January 1, the two charities merged into the Eden and Razzett Foundation, which took over all the activities of the two organisations. The new foundation is made up of members from either side and they sit on the board of trustees.

Dr Muscat said the merger went against the spirit of Eden Foundation, which was a public entity. It was always clear that Eden Foundation belonged to no one but the public and the parents, he said.

On Friday, the parents attended a meeting to clarify certain issues with the trustees. However, Dr Muscat said the trustees did not turn up for the meeting but sent CEO Nathan Farrugia instead.

Mr Farrugia could not answer where the parent association belongs to - whether the foundation or the Razzett - and the large majority left the meeting, Dr Muscat said.

He expressed the parents' doubts on how the Eden Foundation's money was used to sustain an organisation operating at a loss. The Eden Foundation's soul was lost and the parents were feeling that business ventures took over the love there had been, he complained.

Since the foundation received public funds, the parents called on the authorities and the Auditor General to request that public audited accounts of the two foundations are published, Dr Muscat said.

He demanded explanations over how the funds of the Eden Foundation were being used asking, in particular, whether the salaries of the employees of Razzett had been paid from Eden funds. He also asked how the administration of the Eden Foundation had been taken over almost totally by Razzett.

Dr Muscat deemed it strange that Razzett's trustees failed to meet the parents, who were ready to take over the leadership of the foundation. The parents were ready to draft and endorse a statute and form a new board, which would include government appointees, to overlook the running of the foundation, he said.

The parents' association instructed members not to pay the foundation's fees.