More than €170,000 were collected during the 60-hour Oħloq Tbissima (make somebody smile) marathon at Dar San Ġużepp, Sta Venera over the weekend.
The ninth edition of the televised marathon, organised by Cam Productions Limited, kicked off on Friday afternoon and ended in style on Sunday at midnight, ringing in a final tally of €171,152.
A variety show, including live Skype links with missionary priests abroad and laced with clips featuring work carried out by the Missionary Society of St Paul, was aired on Education 22, TVM, Net TV, One TV and Favourite Channel TV.
The aim was to raise missionary awareness while collecting funds to support different missionary projects in Peru, Pakistan, the Philippines and Malta’s Dar San Ġużepp.
Some of the funds collected will support the Independent Living Project at the home, where a wing of the building is being transformed into a compact block of apartments for 16-year-old youths who had been residing at Dar San Ġużepp. Once they find a stable job, they would be ready to move out
MSSP’s mission on the other side of the world, in Peru, is also focused on the well-being of young people in search of a stable standard of living.
Apart from running children’s homes and health clinics, and visiting the elderly, the missionaries help to build weather-proof houses for people who come down to the village from the mountains in search of a job.
The lack of money and skills leads to these people building houses on weak foundations, which are swept away by the first downfall. MSSP missionaries help them build better structures, each costing around €1,500.
One of the missionaries, Maris Camilleri, has been working in Peru, mainly at health centres, for more than eight years.
In Pakistan, the missionaries focus on education. Persecuted Christians find it difficult to secure employment. Retired Fr Gerald Bonello has joined the team in Pakistan to help run a Christian school to boost pupils’ skills. Computers have also been shipped in to assist the youths in their everyday learning.
The missionaries’ main concern in the Philippines, on the other hand, is malnutrition. A large number of families live in dire conditions and are not able to provide their children with food. MSSP makes sure the children attending its educational centre enjoy a nutritional meal at least once daily.
The skills achieved at these centres eases their way into the workforce.
Although the marathon is over, contributions will continue to be collected until the end of the month on 5160 2004 for a donation of €10; 5170 2007, €15; and 5180 2009, €25; or via SMS on 5061 8099 for a donation of €4.66.
www.camcpi.org
A boy’s experience
Fr Frank Cortis MSSP took 10-year-old Eddy Bryan under his wing in a children’s residential home in Peru, Aldea Sagrada Familja, in June 2010.
The autistic boy was suffering from malnutrition and had been maltreated by family members. He had not been allowed out of the house.
He spent a fortnight in hospital to regain his health before settling in at Aldea where he started attending school and learnt how to talk, communicate and play with other children.
With the help of Fr Cortis, his teachers and housemates, Eddy has had to learn how to live in society from scratch, and is nowadays much happier and healthier.