Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1470258
5.12.19 11 COMMERCIAL 9.6.2022 back together Martin Saliba PA Executive Chairperson said "We must not underestimate the impor- tance of our Każini – besides the cultural heritage that these organisations have within our Maltese society, they serve as places that bring people to- gether, across age ranges and political persuasions, opening up possibilities and as a fora to explore new opportunities. Today the culture of Każini is rapidly changing and become more inclusive, especially when it comes to the growing number of women not only at- tending but at the forefront of these social hubs." He added "through the Ir- restawra l-Każin initiative we have shown our support to these voluntary organisations by softening the financial bur- den that the pandemic has left them to face. Maintenance works on their properties still had to be carried out irre- spective of whether they were closed for a significant number of months." is scheme and the Irrest- awra l-Faċċata scheme, which was addressed towards prop- erties situated along a num- ber of streets where levels of traffic are higher, are a subdi- vision of the ever popular Ir- restawra Darek scheme which the PA had issued in 2017 for three consecutive years. ese schemes, place the Author- ity as one of Malta's major contributors towards making funds widely available to pro- mote and safeguard our com- mon heritage. rough the Ir- restawra Darek Scheme alone, the Authority made available €25million and assisted 355 first time buyers, 151 Grade 1 or 2 scheduled buildings, 42 voluntary organisations and 2058 private owners of resi- dences within village core ar- eas. Testimonials Two Każini that benefitted from this scheme were the Soċjeta Filarmonika La Vitto- ria and the Soċjeta Filarmon- ika L-Unjoni in Mellieħa and Luqa respectively. Pawlino Mifsud, President of the La Vittoria Kazin said "this scheme was introduced at the right time. rough the grant provided to us by the PA we managed to carry out the much-needed works to pre- vent the decorative stonework on the balcony from further damage. Given the circum- stances, we did not have the financial resources to carry out these works." President of the L-Unjo- ni Band clubJoseph Piscopo said "we benefitted from this scheme and as a result man- aged to carry out maintenance works to the façade of our każin. Works included the re- painting of the ground floor level of the property and main- tenance to the timber balcony and wrought iron railings." He concluded "not only did we benefit as a club, but the whole community - since this is a cen- tral building and it embellishes one of Luqa's main roads."