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A I R M A LTA N E W S
AIR MALTA ASSISTS BEATING HEARTS MALTA
T
he High Commissioner of Malta to the United Kingdom, His Excellency Norman Hamilton, was called upon by the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, Alistair Harrison CMG CVO on 16 July 2018, for an exchange of gifts between Her Majesty and His Excellency. The Marshal is a senior member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom and the Queen’s link with the diplomatic corps. High Commissioner Hamilton presented Her Majesty with a painting by Professor Victor Grech, a Consultant Paediatrician at Mater Dei Hospital who runs Paediatric Cardiology services for Malta and who also paints. Professor Grech is currently organising a fund-raising exhibition, in London and in Malta, for Beating Hearts Malta, an NGO that he chairs. BHM supports families of children who travel to London for heart surgery and also fund raises for cardiology equipment at Mater Dei Hospital.
From right: His Excellency Norman Hamilton presenting the painting to The Marshal of Diplomatic Corps, Alistair Harrison
It is with great pleasure and satisfaction for all Maltese that this painting of Valletta, titled “Valletta, built by gentlemen, for gentlemen”, was presented to Her Majesty since the UK, primarily through the services of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children in London, greatly assists Malta in the care of many children with cardiac and other problems. And it is through the services of Air Malta, the national carrier, that this particular painting, as well as the other paintings pertaining to the London exhibition, are being transported to London. This campaign forms part of Air Malta's Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives whereby the airline supports organisations that work hard in the Maltese community. As Malta's national carrier, Air Malta is the only airline flying from Malta that fully supports the local community in all possible ways. No other airline operating to Malta provides continued support to voluntary and non-governmental organisations like Air Malta.
Prof. Grech with the painting
Beating Hearts Malta (BHM) is an independent non-profit foundation established primarily to support the needs of parents having children born with heart disease, as well as adult patients with Congenital Heart Defects. BHM also raises money in order to purchase cardiac equipment for Mater Dei Hospital (MDH) - Malta’s general hospital. BHM President, Professor Victor Grech, runs paediatric cardiology services at MDH. He also paints in his spare time, and has donated 150 paintings to BHM, all proceeds of which will be donated to BHM. The locations exhibiting and selling the paintings include the Hilton Malta and Westin Hotels in St. Julians, as well as the Phoenicia Hotel and Mediterranean Conference
Centre in Valletta. There are also plans to exhibit and sell these paintings outside of Malta, in the run up to Malta’s Independence Day, 21 September. Tentative plans are to hold simultaneous exhibitions in London (at the Maltese High Commission) and Brussels (Dar Malta) as well as in Australia, in the week of 21 September. These exhibitions are being coordinated with the help of the Valletta 2018 Cultural Programme and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion. Sponsors include Vee Gee Bee Art, REMAX Malta, Casapinta Design Group Ltd, A4L and of course, Air Malta who will ferrying the paintings to the above European capitals. The paintings make a perfect gift for your loved ones back home. If you happen to be at any of the exhibiting locations, do consider contributing towards this noble cause.