The Ministry for Gozo and Planning, together with The Malta Trust Foundation, launched the Vajrinġa project – Center for Music and Art for children and young people with disabilities.
This project, the first of its kind in Gozo, is an extension of what is being done inside the Center for Music and Art in Santa Venera, designed specifically for current needs in Gozo, which service is being run by The Malta Trust Foundation.
The Minister for Gozo and Planning Clint Camilleri claimed that he always emphasized that those services that are provided in Malta, need to be provided in Gozo as well and that was why he accepted the invitation of the Chairperson of The Malta Trust Foundation Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, who showed the desire to open such a service in the island of Gozo.
Minister Camilleri recalled the number of initiatives taken by the government over the last few years to give disabled people more rights and dignity. “We felt the need for this specialized center for people with disabilities to be incorporated here, in this historic building, in the heart of Victoria City, in the center of the community. We believe in social integration and this with facts,” said the minister.
He stated that the first step has already been taken to make this dream and just cause a reality in the near future as the application was submitted to the Planning Authority for part of this historic building to be restored and converted in this center.
Chairperson of The Malta Trust Foundation Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said: “It has always been the Foundation’s dream that the services it provides in Malta, see them take place in Gozo. For us every child, young man and woman, has the potential to develop their potential through art. It depends a lot on the support and practical support that is given to children and young people so that they can roam in every aspect of their lives.”
“The Center for Music and Art in Malta, which has now been established for over three years, is testimony to how much everyone is endowed with various abilities. This is what will happen in Gozo with the opening of the Vajrinġa – Center for Music and Art. Gozitan children and young people with various skills will give us the opportunity to see how society should welcome and appreciate everyone. The Malta Trust Foundation appreciates the efforts of the Ministry for Gozo so that this dream will become a reality for Gozitan children and youth.”
Part of the historic building, which until a few months ago served as a government primary school in Rabat, will be turned into this unique center for people with disabilities.
Photos: MGP