Three apartments to accommodate children receiving medical treatment in London, and their families, have been inaugurated by Puttinu Cares, the voluntary foundation which looks after children suffering from cancer, in collaboration with the HSBC Cares for Children’s Fund.
The apartments, in Sutton, London, were officially inaugurated by Catherine Gonzi, the prime minister's wife. Michelle Muscat, the opposition leader's wife, was also present.
The fully-furnished, two-bedroomed apartments are 20 minutes walking distance away from the Royal Marsden Hospital where children are treated for cancer. A number of families are already using them.
“These apartments are the fruit of hard work by volunteers as well as the generosity and solidarity of the Maltese people, HSBC Malta and other entities,” Mrs Gonzi, who is the chairman of the HSBC Cares for Children’s Fund, said.
“Our presence here goes beyond the official opening. We are here to lend our support and understand a little bit better the challenges these families are facing: children who are suffering but do not understand what they are going through, parents who stand by the side of their suffering children away from the rest of their families, footing costs which are not always affordable. These are all hardships which these families endure and for which they require a lot of assistance.”
Mrs Muscat said that politics should serve to help everyone live a better life especially families who had children who suffering from cancer.
The government should give more assistance to those who had to abandon their family to offer their children support in their fight against this illness. Hardship, she said, was not suffered just by the children but also by their parents, some of whom had to leave other children behind in Malta while they cared for their sick children in the UK.
Dr Victor Calvagna, chairman of Puttinu Cares, thanked HSBC for facilitating the purchase of the apartments, both financially and in terms of better conditions for loan payments .
The apartments were officially blessed by Archbishop Paul Cremona.