A total of 640 gifts, consisting entirely of soaps, were donated by the four branches of The Body Shop in Malta and Gozo to Suret il-Bniedem, the foundation that manages two refuge shelters for men and women in need.

The gifts were made for Mother's Day following the Body Shop's Another For A Mother campaign.

Customers were able to write messages of support on labels which the Body Shop stores had provided for them to seal their gifts.

Words such as "Do not give up, hang in there, we are thinking of you" and "We know what you are going through, so do not feel alone" were among the most touching messages written.

Simone Mizzi, franchisee for The Body Shop in Malta said: "We had a thrilling response to this promotion for Mother's Day especially from Valletta customers who were most generous, giving us the opportunity to donate 264 gifts just from this one shop.

"Next followed Gozo, where through our Gozitan customers we donated 140 soaps to the foundation, the Bugibba branch gave us 126 and the Sliema branch at The Plaza collected 110 where we honestly hoped we would collect more.

"We have been most touched by the moving messages of support that customers took the time to write and on behalf of all of us I do wish to thank those members of the public who followed our call for help so promptly."

Emma Portelli, coordinator for the shelter for women in Valletta, Dar Tereza Spinelli, was overwhelmed and said the gifts would not only bring good cheer to those who were given refuge but would also enable them to raise funds which are badly needed for the home to establish its own emergency helpline and to purchase equipment for a childrens' play area.

Dar Tereza Spinelli, which opened in November 2002, can shelter up to 25 women who sometimes leave home with their children. Most are victims of domestic violence, women coming out of mental institutions or who have terminated prison sentences, women coming out of the prostitution circuit and who have no home to go to.