Kenyan orphans whose parents died of AIDS and homeless families in Mozambique will be among the communities benefiting from more than €360,000 in overseas development funds handed out on Tuesday.

Beneficiaries are asked to provide proof of where the money is spent

The aid was divided among 28 organisations that will be using the money to help communities in Third World countries.

The projects vary from the building of schools and homes to buying medical equipment and helping communities improve their farming potential. The beneficiaries range from the St Jeanne Antide Foudation to the Millennium Chapel in Malta; from Ċam Youths that does work in the Philippines to the YMCA organisation.

Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg distributed cheques, ranging between €2,500 and €15,000 to the organisations and applauded the work carried out by volunteers. Most cheques were for €14,000.

He said that this year Malta was spending €363,047 on the co-financing of projects in several countries in Africa, Asia and South America.

Dr Borg said Malta spent much more in overseas development aid and this included funds spent on housing migrants in Malta. The full amount would only be known at the end of the year. The beneficiaries had to be organisations carrying out capital projects in Third World countries and that could cover other expenses. The government did not fund the whole project.

When asked whether the committee monitored the projects to ensure money was spent where it should, Dr Borg said beneficiaries were asked to sign a contract that obliged them to provide documented proof of where the money was spent.