The HSBC Cares For Children Fund has donated four computers and interactive materials worth some Lm7,000 to upgrade the Talking Book Library. The new facilities at the Talking Book Library, located at the main public library in Belt is-Sebh, are aimed primarily for dyslexic children. The interactive materials donated include a significant number of children’s books on CD Roms.

HSBC’s head of personal financial services, John B. Hackett who, together with Education Minister Louis Galea, inaugurated the new library, said, “Dyslexia presents a challenge for many children in Malta and Gozo. Youngsters inevitably find the condition frustrating and the difficulties they have in reading can lead them to give up on their education. The HSBC Cares For Children Fund wants to see all children fulfilling their potential and the Talking Book Library will now also be of great benefit to dyslexic children who can make use of these new facilities in order to enjoy some great books”.

The HSBC Cares For Children Fund was established in June 2000 and has donated well in excess of Lm200,000 to various initiatives as well as organisations helping disadvantaged children throughout the Maltese Islands.

In addition to financial contributions, the Fund also provides volunteers from among HSBC’s staff in order to assist in a number of these projects.

Apart from the new facilities for dyslexic children funded by the HSBC Cares For Children Fund, the Talking Book library has, over the past years, already been providing a service to the blind, elderly and others with reading difficulties.

In 2004, the library’s 600 members borrowed 24,963 cassettes which featured a vast range of books.