Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1211889
13 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 19 FEBRUARY 2020 CULTURE NAXXAR Middle School stu- dents struggling with life's chal- lenges will start benefitting from psycho-social support after the Malta Trust Foundation secured €45,000 for its Blossom project that focuses on providing per- manent counsellors in schools. An agreement was signed today between the Deloitte Foundation, the Maria Re- gina College and the Malta Trust Foundation to secure the services of a counsellor at the school over the next three years. This follows Blossom's suc- cessful venture introduced at the St Paul's Bay primary school nearly four years ago where two counsellors — fund- ed by private entities — have since offered support to more than 400 children. Trust president Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said: "The scope behind Blossom is to secure the provision of counselling servic- es in schools to empower chil- dren and bolster them with the skills to face life's challenges through psycho-social support. This is a long-term investment in the child's future. "It is only through the com- mitment and sponsorship of private entities and companies intent on investing in their corporate social responsibility dimension that projects such as Blossom can exist. And it is immensely rewarding to see this venture today extend to Naxxar Middle School." The Trust's scope is to add value to existing services, and by working hand in hand with the school's administration, teachers and LSAs, three coun- sellors were eventually recruit- ed to help the St Paul's Bay primary school students, their parents and even administra- tive staff navigate through the psychological issues they en- countered. This is not possible without the financial support of private companies, such as Deloitte Malta, which recently set up the Deloitte Foundation – a non-profit voluntary organi- sation – as part of its ongoing commitment to make an im- pact in society. Its goals are to support initiatives under four main pillars: quality education, environmental sustainability, cultural heritage and societal impact. Marc Alden, Deloitte Malta CEO, said "Deloitte is a pur- pose-led organisation – and our aim is to have an impact that matters on our clients, our people and on society. As our business grows and evolves, we feel a stronger need to live our purpose and to contrib- ute to our local communities by leveraging on our skills, knowledge and resources. It is through projects such as this one that we are able to bring our purpose to life. We are very proud to be collaborating with The Malta Trust Founda- tion on this initiative, and are looking forward to the positive results, we are confident the project will reap." Carmen Galea, one of the counsellors at St Paul's Bay, appealed to education author- ities to invest more in this area and ensure every school had its own permanent counsellors so that no child's education was hindered because they failed to find the help they needed. Children struggling with their parents' hostile separation was a recurring issue where stu- dents sought help because they were seeing their life crumble and being torn apart from the two people they loved. Josette Dalmas, who was headmistress at St Paul's Bay primary for over eight years, said the counsellors funded by Blossom were her lifeline in dealing with behavioural issues as well as traumas of migrant students who had been uproot- ed from their homeland with no transition, often leaving their toys, belongings, extend- ed family and friends behind. "It's been encouraging to now see students come forward and seek the counselling service themselves. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing a smile resurface on a child's face or getting a thank-you hug. The counsellors have been nothing short of excellent. I wouldn't have been able to lead the school without them." Malta Trust Foundation's counselling project empowers 400 students (Right to left) Deloitte Foundation CEO Marc Alden, Education Ministry permanent secretary Frank Fabri, Naxxar Middle School Corinne Cilia, Malta Trust Foundation head Sarah Bondin, Ms Malta Trust Foundation counsellors Carmen Galea, Rita Galea and Isabelle Anastasi (Right to left ) Maria Regina College head Patrick Decelis, Notary Josef Masini, Malta Trust Foundation chair Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, and Blossom Foundation founder Claudine Cassar