It's that time of the year again - Christmas, New Year... and, of course, l-Istrina. It is also that time of year to spare a thought, some hard earned money and perhaps some time for those less fortunate.
And the annual l-Istrina telethon is the ideal occasion to do just that.
After the sweeping reform of the annual telethon carried out by Malta's previous President, George Abela, this will be the first under the patronage of President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca.
President Emeritus George Abela's reforms are still in place - the most notable of which was the eradication of the gluttonous prize-giving frenzies that once characterised the marathon, and the challenge he presented to the Maltese people to give just as generously without the massive dangling carrot, which the people rose to in an admirable fashion.
But this is a new year and a new president, a President who has also performed admirably so far during her tenure and who aspires to do so much more.
Now whether one feels it is questionable that the Malta Community Chest Fund (MCCF) - under the patronage of the President - which is the recipient and distributor of l-Istrina funds should be responsible for raising money to fund extraordinary healthcare requirements for Maltese citizens in a welfare state is correct or not, that is precisely the situation.
This situation also means that l-Istrina funds are in many cases a question of life or death for many people and a question of peace of mind or utter turmoil for their families.
As matters stand, the MCCF is the only national fund that gives financial support to patients suffering from serious illnesses to undergo specialised chemotherapy and treatments for rare or chronic diseases.
Those funds, or lack thereof, affect those people, and their families, on the deepest level possible. And the MCCF helps them in their greatest moments of need, when they are suffering and their lives and families are in a state of complete turmoil, and who desperately need help to be cured or at least to improve their quality of life in their darkest hours.
The rate of cancer, one of the main illnesses patients receiving help from the MCCF for treatment are suffering from, is growing at an alarming rate. Internationally, the prevalence of cancer has grown by 25 per cent over the last 25 years. And in Malta over the last 10 years, cancer rates among Maltese males have increased by 38 per cent and among females by 53 per cent.
L-Istrina is about saving lives and if those lives cannot be saved despite the best of efforts, the aim is to give them a better quality of life when they are at their most vulnerable, and to provide some peace of mind for their families, families whose lives are turned upside down and who would move heaven and earth if possible to help their loved ones.
Helping these people is what l-Istrina is all about, and that is what the MCCF is all about.
This, however, comes at no small monetary cost. But in the meantime the MCCF is running at a continual deficit - paying out money for treatments and services from funds it is still to receive - but the situation is such that there is no other option, given this President's unswerving determination to give everyone a fighting chance to beat the scourge of cancer and other fatal illnesses - or to, at the very least, alleviate the suffering of those who are beyond cure.
The costs attached to some treatments are, in fact, staggering. A new cure recently made available for Hepatitis C, for example, costs €50,000 to €100,000 per patient.
But the fact of the matter is that, on average, €230,000 is required by the MCCF each and every month. And if the prevalence of cancer grows, as it seems it will, according to oncologists' forecasts, more funds than ever will need to be collected.
One new initiative is aimed at the business community, which can have deep pockets in the right circumstances and which already donates several thousand euros for the treatment of chronic diseases. As from this year, businesses' donations to l-Istrina of over €2,000, will, for the first time, be tax deductable.
It is hoped that businesses will be more on board than ever before and that this incentive will see businesses digging deeper into their pockets than ever before.
The MCCF is the only national fund of this sort we have; it has become an extension to social public provision, and l-Istrina is the MCCF's cash cow as it were. As such, this year we implore the Maltese people and businesses to give and to give generously - one never knows when the shoe will be placed on the other foot and you will find yourself in dire need of the MCCF's help.
This is the time of year to embrace your fellow citizens, to lend a helping hand to those in need. The Christmas spirit is not, after all, what you drink - it is what you do for your fellow man.