The successful conclusion of the third edition of the International String Orchestra Festival signified the successful commencement of an important project known as the Malta Heart Foundation.

On Friday, 17 April, this new NGO was launched at the Manoel Theatre by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, together with the foundation’s chairman, Jo Cachia.

President Emeritus Professor Guido De Marco, one of the founding members of this new foundation, presided over the event, which was also attended by eminent cardiologist Albert Fenech, another founding member, who oversaw the donation of the first automatic defibrillator to Manoel Theatre. A number of such automatic defibrillators will in fact be placed in public spaces according to one of the main aims of the new Foundation.

The Malta Heart Foundation is the initiative of a group of friends who saw the urgent need for the creation of an NGO that would cater for the needs of people who suffer from heart problems. At a get-together on 22 February, 2008, it was unanimously decided to work towards setting up such an organisation. A steering committee was formed and the members involved went about the task of forming the Malta Heart Foundation. They sought and obtained the expert advice of Albert Fenech, Consultant Cardiologist, and Alex Manche`, cardiothoracic surgeon together with the legal expertise of Pierre Attard, Notary Public. On 28 February the Deed of Foundation was signed and the Malta Heart Foundation became a reality.

The foundation’s main objectives will be to educate the general public with an emphasis on prevention of heart related diseases, to promote and support models of good care and practice including purchase of equipment, to provide information, education and support to patients suffering from heart conditions, as well as to their families, and also to make possible the provision of post-operative care.