On the 3rd of December, Malta, and the world at large, celebrated World Disability Day. Inspire commemorated this special day on the 1st December, in collaboration with The Marigold Foundation and the Office of The Prime Minister, with an event held at Villa Francia. The day is celebrated all over the world to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilise support for the DIGNITY, RIGHTS and WELL-BEING of persons with disabilities.
A guest who represented Adpro Instruments spoke about the support his enterprise brings to the cause.
“As part of our corporate social responsibility, we help in many ways. We support charities and good causes, especially for the youth. We also help Inspire which, plays a great role in our society. It is important that we give back some of what we gained in life “, he said.
The Inspire Foundation provides services in learning, education, living skills, therapy and leisure to children and adults with disabilities.
This year, this event which is running in its third year, has raised, seven thousand euros in donations in aid of The Inspire Foundation.
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Mrs Michelle Muscat who hosted the event gave an exclusive interview to Inspire Foundation volunteer Cyrielle Delmas. Mrs Muscat talked about disabilities and why it is important to raise awareness about this cause.
Can you tell us about the cause you are defending today and why you are hosting this event ?
This cause is very close to my heart. Like any other country there are many people living with disabilities in Malta. Inspire not only brings results to these persons but also gives them hope, services and the opportunity to talk to the right can give them the appropriate support. Tonight, I am wearing two hats. I’m hosting this event as spouse of the Prime Minister and as Chairperson of the Marigold Foundation whose aim is to help NGOs like Inspire reach their goals. We hope that this event tonight will not just mark World Disability Day but will also garner support and funds for the projects that are in the pipeline for Inspire. Of course it is our pleasure to help get more interest and more people to support Inspire and also try and work with Inspire not just on commonly known disabilities but also to extend the interest to rare diseases. This year the Marigold Foundation set up the Alliance for rare disease support. It is a new NGO in Malta; there was nothing before to support people suffering from rare disease. Through this alliance, we are now there for these people. We still need to work and lobby with service providers because it’s not just about gathering funds, but it’s also creating awareness.
Do you think that there should be more charities in Malta to support this cause ?
We have a lot of NGOs in Malta and they all do a fantastic job. We’ve got a lot of people who volunteer during their own free time and out of their own free will. What is important is that we connect together not to copy one another. Marigold tries to connect people to work together so that resources are used in collaboration and put to their fullest use.
Do you have new projects with charities in the future ?
Marigold is open to all NGOs in Malta. The Foundation is the ambassador of Autism Speaks. We want to connect Malta with the rest of the world and raise awareness on autism. We work with the association of parents of children with autism.
We also work with service providers that help rehabilitate people suffering from drug and alcohol abuse. We work with orphanages as well. We’ve got a myriad of causes, of course we look forward to learn about existing NGOs and also give birth to new NGOs. We look forward to help people who want to set up an NGO.
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Each year, several countries worldwide organise debates, forums, discussions, and many more events to bring everyone together and talk about disability.
Disability day has been recognized by the United Nations since 1992 in order to represent persons living with disabilities. The importance of World Disability Day is that awareness is raised each year on the status disabled persons occupy within society, whether they present mental or physical disabilities. The aim of this day is also to show the world that people living with such conditions can be well integrated into the daily life and that disability should not get in the way of making friends and going to work.