{"id":56640,"date":"2026-04-08T14:04:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:04:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/?p=56640"},"modified":"2026-04-08T14:04:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:04:41","slug":"prime-ministers-wife-joins-group-of-young-people-in-new-project-to-cheer-up-children-in-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/08\/prime-ministers-wife-joins-group-of-young-people-in-new-project-to-cheer-up-children-in-hospital\/","title":{"rendered":"Prime Minister\u2019s wife joins group of young people in new project to cheer up children in hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"HwtZe\" lang=\"en\"><span class=\"jCAhz ChMk0b\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\">\u00a0During a visit to Mater Dei Hospital, Dr Lydia Abela accompanied a group of young entrepreneurs who began carrying out an original project intended to bring comfort, hope and solace to children undergoing medical treatment in the hospital.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"HwtZe\" lang=\"en\"><span class=\"jCAhz ChMk0b\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\">The Dr Sunshine social initiative, under a program led by the JA Malta foundation, is based on the idea of \u200b\u200bdistributing products such as reading books, coloring books and blankets that serve as a positive distraction for hospitalized children.<\/span><\/span><span class=\"jCAhz ChMk0b\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\"> This idea arose from the personal experience of the young Yasmine Shawish, who when she was 8 years old, had spent a period in the hospital and met a little patient who felt lonely and sad.<\/span><\/span> <span class=\"jCAhz\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\">She had decided to share her toys with him and there she saw what a difference a simple gesture could make.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"HwtZe\" lang=\"en\"><span class=\"jCAhz\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\">With this inspiration, Yasmine joined with students from St. Aloysius College and the Junior College to create this compassionate project that has now begun to be implemented at the hospital with the aim of brightening the journey of hospitalized children.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"HwtZe\" lang=\"en\"><span class=\"jCAhz ChMk0b\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\"> While contributing to the distribution of Dr. Sunshine\u2019s comfort kits, Dr. Lydia Abela praised the thinking behind this initiative that helps children feel more comfortable, while encouraging their tranquility, creativity and imagination.<\/span><\/span><span class=\"jCAhz ChMk0b\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\"> \u201cThese young people have managed to combine entrepreneurial thinking with a sense of social solidarity, and which is now being translated into concrete action and a positive impact in the lives of these patients and their families\u201d, said the Prime Minister\u2019s wife.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"HwtZe\" lang=\"en\"><span class=\"jCAhz\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\"> The products in the comfort kits were selected after a research exercise to scientifically establish what can improve that difficult moment for young patients.<\/span><\/span><span class=\"jCAhz ChMk0b\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\"> While recalling that this initiative led to Yasmine Shawish winning the Shape the Future award last March during the MARA evening, Dr Abela congratulated the entire Dr Sunshine team for the generosity they are showing in doing good to others.<\/span><\/span><span class=\"jCAhz ChMk0b\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\"> During this visit, Dr Abela also had the opportunity to speak to hospitalized children and their relatives, where she delivered a message of courage.<\/span><\/span> <span class=\"jCAhz ChMk0b\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\">She thanked the professionals and employees of the hospital for their valuable work and continuous commitment in the care of patients.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_56641\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-56641\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/pr260566b.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-56641\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/pr260566b-300x154.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"154\" srcset=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/pr260566b-300x154.jpeg 300w, http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/pr260566b-150x77.jpeg 150w, http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/pr260566b.jpeg 585w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-56641\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr Lydia Abela visiting children at MDH<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span class=\"HwtZe\" lang=\"en\"><span class=\"jCAhz\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\">Photos: OPM<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div 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The Dr Sunshine social initiative, under a program led by the JA Malta foundation, is based on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_56640\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"56640\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-56640","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"td_0x420":false,"td_80x60":false,"td_218x150":false,"td_324x400":false,"td_696x0":false,"td_1068x0":false,"td_100x70":false,"td_265x198":false,"td_324x160":false,"td_324x235":false,"td_356x220":false,"td_356x364":false,"td_533x261":false,"td_534x462":false,"td_696x385":false,"td_741x486":false,"td_1068x580":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Bernard Lynch","author_link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/author\/bernardlynch\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"\u00a0During a visit to Mater Dei Hospital, Dr Lydia Abela accompanied a group of young entrepreneurs who began carrying out an original project intended to bring comfort, hope and solace to children undergoing medical treatment in the hospital. The Dr Sunshine social initiative, under a program led by the JA Malta foundation, is based on&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56640"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56642,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56640\/revisions\/56642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}