Maltese summers are characterised by beach life, yet water on land remains scarce. For the sixth consecutive year, HSBC Malta Water Programme has given SkolaSajf students across the islands a chance to learn more about the challenges of preserving water and the importance of its conservation.

This year, the water-conservation campaign organised art workshops with the help of Maltese artist, Luca Cauchi, who encouraged students to draw inspiration from water in their art work. Activities were held in Sliema Primary School, Fantasy Island Club Żebbuġ, Rabat Primary B School, Marsaxlokk Primary School, Għajnsielem SkolaSajf Centre, Safi Primary School, Pietà Primary School, and Mellieħa Primary School.

In Gozo students visited the HSBC Water Programme exhibition ‘Gozo Goes Art’ and met with the Minister for Gozo Justyne Caruana. First displayed at St James Cavalier in April of this year as part of the Valletta 2018 calendar, the exhibition is the culmination of a three-year art project. It was supported by HSBC Malta as part of its HSBC Water Programme – Catch the Drop, and run by France-based l’association École d’art au village (Edaav).

Glenn Bugeja, coordinator of the HSBC Malta Water Programme, said: “Learning about a vital source of life should not stop when students are on summer holidays. In fact, we want our participants to learn about water in the most fun ways possible and summer school is the perfect time to promote our messages.”

SkolaSajf is organised by the Foundation for Education Services (FES) and offers children across Malta and Gozo the opportunity to make the most of their summer holidays. Past HSBC SkolaSajf events featured Sponge Bob and Frozen movie shows, quizzes, experiments and performances. Bank employees also volunteer at these HSBC-supported events.

Over a period of three years, a total of 150 students were supervised by Edaav President Sébastien Cailleux and Luca Cauchi. The participating students came from four schools in Malta and Gozo: Għajnsielem Primary, Ħandaq Middle, Mater Boni Consilii in Paola, and Naxxar Primary.

The HSBC-supported SkolaSajf 2018 helped students to understand water challenges.