Last Tuesday, Mrs. Michelle Muscat as Chairperson of The Marigold Foundation - BOV in the community, visited Inspire's inclusive summer school in Marsascala and presented a cheque in support of the initiative.  

The Inspire Summer School caters for children of all abilities between the ages of 3 and 12. It focuses on full inclusion of children with disabilities who get the opportunity to interact and socialize with children of typical development. This is done through the various daily activities such as horse riding, pottery, music, dance, arts, crafts and outings, organized by the dedicated staff at Inspire.

"It is thanks to support such as this that the Inspire Summer School can keep running," explained Mr. Antonello Gauci - CEO at Inspire. "In order to keep hosting children with disabilities for free, we need monetary support as well as applications from children of typical development. Unfortunately Inspire remains one of the very few summer schools that caters adequately for children with disabilities. In future we would love to see other schools opening their doors to children with disabilities, thus taking our society a step closer to being a fully inclusive one."

This year, The Inspire Summer School welcomed 99 children, 34 of which have a disability.   Children with disabilities attend free of charge except for the LSA fee when required. 

Mrs. Michelle Muscat emphasized that having a summer school that caters for both children with disabilities and others who go through a normal development, is beneficial to both. "It gives children with disabilities a chance to be in an inclusive environment and the possibility of reaching their full potential, whilst other children learn how to care, how to cope and how to empathise with their peers. This augurs well for their behaviour as adult citizens."

The Inspire Summer School is one of the many services that Inspire provides for families with children with disabilities.   Today, Inspire helps over 1000 individuals with various disabilities ranging from Down Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy and others. This is done through many services and disability programmes. Inspire requires a total of €3 million a year to keep running.

For more information or to make a donation visit www.inspire.org.mt