Puttinu Cares raises record €6.6 million in Good Friday fundraiser

€1.6 million were raised from the public during a TV fundraiser for Puttinu Cares on Good Friday • Prime Minister Joseph Muscat called in to pledge a further €5 million from the Individual Investor Fund

Show host Peppi Azzopardi (Left) took a phone call from Prime Minister Joseph Muscat who pledged €5 million for Puttinu Cares
Show host Peppi Azzopardi (Left) took a phone call from Prime Minister Joseph Muscat who pledged €5 million for Puttinu Cares

A record €1.6 million were raised for Puttinu Cares from public donations during a Good Friday fundraiser on TVM’s Xarabank.

A further €5 million were pledged by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, with the money coming from the cash-for-passports Individual Investor Fund.

Puttinu Cares is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that provides accommodation for the families of Maltese receiving medical treatment in the UK. It is currently seeking to build 30 apartments in central London to make available to the families of patients. 

Every month, around 90 Maltese patients travel to the UK with their families for medical care. 

Late into the night on Friday, as the audience celebrating reaching the €1.3 million in donations collected during last year’s event, show host Peppi Azzopardi took a live telephone call from the prime minister.

Muscat, who is currently in Australia to attend the opening ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games, said that he remembered his family being hosted by the nuns in the UK when his father needed treatment there.

It was then he announced the government would be donating €5 million to Puttinu Cares.

Having raised €6.6 million, the NGO can now start looking for suitable land or a block of apartments in London.

In a statement, Puttinu Cares thanked people for their generosity and expressed its appreciation to the Office of the Prime Minister for its help.