A Gozo missionary movement donated over Lm500,000 to various missions last year, figures seen by The Times show.

The Moviment Missjunarju Gesu fil-Proxxmu managed to raise an impressive Lm557,765 last year, of which Lm509,765 were donated to missions in Brazil, Kenya, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Pakistan and Tanzania. The missionary movement has a credit bank balance of Lm231,708.

Thanks to the donations, thousands of ailing children were provided with food and medicine, while several others started attending school, the movement's director Fr Gorg Grima said.

Homes for the poor were opened in Brazil's Pernambuco, Sao Francisco and San Louis. In the city of Manjare in Ethiopia, the movement constructed a school for the Gumuz tribe and a school and a convent in Bulbulam, Ethiopia. The projects were being carried out with the assistance of the Reaching Out group.

Fr Grima underlined the need for more help this year as his movement proceeds with the construction of a school in Nekemte and a kindergarten school in Shasinda, both in Ethiopia. The biggest project, however, is a home for some 300 orphans infected with Aids in Kenya.

One of the systems used by the Gozo mission enables people to donate Lm12 a year to "adopt" a child.

"There are a lot of kind people out there who realise that every child matters. And some children that have been rescued from starvation have now moved on in life," Fr Grima said.

After 28 years working in the missions, Fr Grima feels his organisation has made a huge difference.

"We can't fix the world but with the help of kind hearts, we are making our presence felt."