It was sad to hear that Dar tal-Providenza, the home where people with a disability are so well taken care of, is in dire financial straits.

During a press conference held last week, it was explained that the home has been running at a deficit of over Lm200,000 a year for quite some time, reaching Lm300,000 last year.

Up to now, the home has been able to cover its losses through back-up funds it had accumulated in previous years, but the reserves are drying up and the situation looks rather bleak. The home needs Lm1.5 million a year to function.

Home director Mgr Lawrence Gatt said that while donations from benefactors have remained stable, income from wills has diminished considerably over the years. This year, it is projected that there will be another Lm300,000 deficit.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that this year, Dar tal-Providenza will not benefit from funds raised by the Kerygma Movement, who are not holding their traditional volleyball marathon in August. A good part of the funds raised during that activity were passed on to Dar tal-Providenza.

We do not dispute Mgr Gatt’s words when he said that donations from benefactors – except those from wills – have more or less remained the same. But, on the other hand, we must also point out that the fact that Dar tal-Providenza is now “competing” for funds with a host of other organisations must have had a telling effect on the financial situation of the home.

Not so long ago, Dar tal-Providenza was the first place that came to mind when someone wanted to make a donation. Nowadays, with so many fund-raising events held almost every month to collect money for different organisations, Dar tal-Providenza’s share has dwindled.

This could also be seen from the fact that last year, for example, the Kerygma volleyball marathon raised “only” Lm143,500, compared to the Lm235,274 that had been collected a year earlier. This fall contributed to pushing Kerygma into deciding to take a year off, in a bid to find a different approach. This also meant that last year, Dar tal-Providenza received a smaller amount as a result of Kerygma’s activity.

It all boils down to the fact that fund-raising activities are today so common across the island that it has become a battle between different organisations. In TMID’s leader on 29 September, we said that those organisations who manage to rope in a number of prizes have a better chance of raising more funds than others who simply rely on voluntary work and the sacrifice of participants.

We had also raised the question of whether the Maltese were giving their donations because they wanted to help charity or whether they did so as a form of gambling. “Are the people donating money doing so because they feel obliged to help those in need or are they risking Lm5 or Lm10 to have the chance to win a car or a holiday?”, TMID asked at the time.

We ask the same question again, in particular because Dar tal-Providenza is in need of funds and this organisation does not hold events l-Istrina style to collect them. It simply relies on the generosity of the Maltese people, those who contribute without expecting something in return.

This generosity towards Dar tal-Providenza has sharply declined over the past years, putting the sterling services offered at this Siggiewi home in jeopardy.

Let us not forget that there are 125 residents at the home, and they need our financial help to continue receiving all the professional attention they require.

Dar tal-Providenza is 40 years old, and since its inception it has taken care of hundreds of people with a disability.

Now there is a risk that it could close down. Providence is needed like never before.