No doubt, the Lm700,000 collected in last Monday’s L-Istrina marathon is a big sum indeed. Once again, it showed that the Maltese are a generous people who are always ready to lend a helping hand to others in need.

Per capita, last Monday the Maltese people donated Lm1.75 each, which is a figure that exceeds amounts collected elsewhere across Europe over the Christmas period. The global sums raised may be bigger in other countries, but on average, the people there donated less.

This, on the whole, confirms, as The Malta Independent wrote yesterday, that in spite of claims of economic difficulties and less spending power, the Maltese are still a big-hearted and openhanded people when it comes to helping others in need.

Whether they do so just because they want to be generous or because they are attracted to the prizes on offer – in return for their donation – is another matter. But the end result is that the Maltese give, and give a lot.

The other side of the coin is that although, as explained before, the Maltese give more than other people do, the amount collected this year is again lower than that raised during the same programme last year.

As explained in the story on pages 1 and 3, the Lm700,000 collected last Monday is the lowest figure raised since 2001. The organisers will say that another Lm600,000 have to be added to this amount – this money being collected from the sale of cars used during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, for a total of Lm1.29 million.

Last year, over Lm800,000 were collected during L-Istrina, with another Lm490,000 in a follow-up for the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami a week later.

The peak had been reached in 2003, when L-Istrina had collected over Lm1 million during the one-day marathon only.

So why are people giving less? There will be those who will blame the economic situation of the country, something with which we do not agree because, on the whole, the sum collected is still very big and, as said, per capita the Maltese are still extremely generous.

There are certainly other things that have contributed to this drop, foremost among which is the fact that today there are too many fund-raising activities that are held throughout the year, many of them based on the L-Istrina formula.

The people are still giving a lot to charities and political parties, but this amount is distributed over a whole year. L-Istrina is still the biggest fund-raising activity, but people are giving less to L-Istrina because they are giving more to other campaigns.

Secondly, the formula that is used by L-Istrina was great when it was first introduced. So much so that other organisations are using it too – but now it seems to need to be changed to remain attractive. The entertainment that is provided during the marathon is limited, as the organisers seem to prefer giving out the prizes linked with the phone-ins. It would perhaps be better to have more singing and dancing, rather than continuous appeals for people to phone.

Thirdly, the repeated footage of people in need of funds might be having the reverse effect, as many are those who change channel when this footage is shown. It would perhaps be wiser to have people who benefited from previous L-Istrina collections to be interviewed or, where possible, for footage of work carried out with L-Istrina funds to be shown. Rather than concentrate on what needs to be done, the organisers should be more positive and focus on what has been already done with L-Istrina funds. This, unfortunately, gets little coverage.

One last suggestion. Both Peppi Azzopardi and Valerie Vella do a sterling job in presenting L-Istrina year-in year-out. But perhaps, the organisers should think of keeping these two presenters for the final hours of the marathon, and include others in the initial stages. In this way, both Peppi and Valerie will still be fresh when the final push is being made.