“We help take care of young children who are sick with cancer, whose biggest difficulty is to go overseas regularly for their doctors’ appointments, since they need to be accompanied by their parents and this entails a large expense. So we rented two flats in London to help out the parents when it comes to accommodation expenses. We have now decided to try and buy these apartments and we are in the final stages of coming to an agreement. For this reason, we need to raise Lm500,000 (over e1 million),” said the Children’s Cancer Support Group “Puttinu Cares” Coordinator Renny Zerafa yesterday at a press conference held at the Corinthia Palace Hotel in Attard.
“The Emergency Fire & Rescue Unit (EFRU) have always supported us and it is thanks to such organisations that we manage to make our dreams a reality. We appreciate the fact that the launch of ‘Cycles for Charity’ is in aid of ‘Puttinu Cares’,” added Mr Zerafa.
EFRU’s Director Ivan Barbara said: “This year we are organising for the first time a 128 Km cycling tour in Sicily to be held on 2 May 2008 as a fundraising event for ‘Puttinu Cares’ and as part of our Community Assistance Programme. None of the EFRU members participating are professional cyclists although cycling is one of their stamina-building exercises. This event will be one of the most important milestones in the NGOs calendar of fundraising events.”
The eight cyclists, who include a woman, will leave Malta at 5am crossing the channel to Sicily. Once at Pozzallo they will make their way to Siracusa. On arrival at Siracusa they will rest for an hour break, then once again make their way back to Pozzallo in time for the 8pm catamaran back to Malta.
The Emergency Fire & Rescue Unit (EFRU) is a voluntary organisation specialising in basic rescue, rope access, high angle rescue, First Aid, fire fighting and diving. The unit is entirely manned by unpaid volunteers and its main scope is to provide emergency assistance to the local authorities in national emergencies or when requested. EFRU embraces the principles of teamwork, excellence, honesty and integrity amongst its members to improve their quality of life and that of the persons they assist.
For further information contact one of the organisers:
Ivan Barbara on 7949-0717, Alexander Camilleri on 9949-7272, Keith Borg on 7949-9433, or Natalino De Brincat on 9944-8817, or check out www.efru.net.
Donations can be sent as follows:
e3 – 5061-7375
e5 – 5061-8079