Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/712794
40 Events maltatoday, SUNDAY, 17 JULY 2016 HSBC Water Programme showcases its work in Africa to the migrant community in Malta HSBC Water Programme – Catch the Drop reached out to and embraced the migrant community in Malta by spon- soring a ground-breaking ini- tiative called Explorers. Organised by the Migrant Women Association Malta and curated by Moira Agius in collaboration with Spazju Kreattiv – St James Cavalier and a handful of others, Ex- plorers aimed to tackle funda- mental aspects of integration through a series of intercul- tural art workshops and an in- teractive art installation. In addition to financially supporting the project, six colleagues from HSBC Malta who visited Ghana last year recounted their experience when witnessing for the first time in their life how commu- nities with shortage of clean water cope with their daily challenges. The HSBC Water Pro- gramme has been implement- ing projects in Ghana since 2012, working with the global NGO, WaterAid, to improve access to safe water, sanita- tion and hygiene. The HSBC Malta staff trip was part of the five-year HSBC Water Programme. Although there were no Ghanian attendees, all par- ticipants commended HSBC's initiatives in Africa and hoped that someday people will do the same in their respective hometowns. A participant, Fatima (name changed to protect identity), said: "Water is very impor- tant. Without water there is no life. The journey to Europe is very difficult and one of the reasons is the lack of water. In my journey, we were 50 peo- ple, and we only had 2 litres of water to live on." "I saw people desperately crying for water. I also saw people dying with thirst dur- ing the journey. If you are a woman asking for water a lot of time, they sexually abuse you to give you water," she added. Moira Aguis, who lent her energies to realise Explor- ers, commented: "Listening to Fatima's story was a mov- ing experience. Although she does not implicitly state that she was abused, she implies that she knows women who were abused. I am now explor- ing the possibility of creating an artistic performance that will showcase the relationship between migrants' journeys, women, and water." A member of the HSBC Malta team who visited a water sanitation project in Ghana last year speaks to the audience about the human struggles when facing shortages of clean water GasanMamo Insurance employees back from one-day Sicily culinary tour A group of GasanMamo employ- ees together with their families and friends, have recently returned from a culinary tour in Sicily, as part of a team-building activity. The trip gave the employees the opportunity to get to know each other in an informal setting, whilst also allowing them to enjoy some leisure time in this charming country, sipping fruity indigenous wines and indulging in delightful Sicilian cuisine. The journey started off with vis- its to an olive oil tasting centre, where GasanMamo employees also bought unique traditional products. The trip included visits to the Sagra Museum, the Instrument Museum, the War Museum and an Olive Oil Production Museum in Chiaramonte Gulfi. For lunch the team headed off to a traditional Si- cilian Restaurant, then proceeded off to the Centro Commerciale for some shopping and finishing in the town of Pozzallo. "It was such a pleasant break and a great opportunity to get to know each other in an informal environ- ment," said one of the employees. "I really enjoyed everyone's com- pany and was very delighted to have spent such a great day togeth- er with the group." GasanMamo Insurance is one of Malta's leading insurance com- panies providing competitively priced and a different range of insurance cover types, from car and boat insurance to home insur- ance and health insurance for both personal and commercial clients through the Maltese Islands. The company recognises the im- portance of customer value and ensures that it maximizes value by keeping premiums as low as pos- sible, yet maintaining the correct balance to provide service that meets the standards set by the company. Corporate Social Responsibility makes a big part of how Gasan- Mamo Insurance goes about busi- ness. The company believes that giving back to people and commu- nities is their duty and serves to enrich lives across the board. Atlas Group managers support New Leaf and National Library MANAGERS from Atlas Group re- cently visited the National Library to give a helping hand to New Leaf, a non-profit organisation, whose objective is to preserve books and assist with projects at both the National Library of Malta and the public lending libraries. Those attending were first given a brief talk by Donald Briffa, New Leaf's secretary and an assistant librarian at the National Library. Briffa covered the history of the Library, together with a view- ing of some of the Library's valued works. He explained that the Li- brary constantly requires teams of book cleaners to care for the exten- sive collection of priceless books, most of which date back to the 16th and 17th century. Following the talk, Atlas manag- ers spent the afternoon assisting the book restoration section by re- moving and dusting books, clean- ing and polishing to preserve the various collections and vol- umes. "We really enjoyed the hands- on experience of contributing something positive, and meet- ing the restorers. As a company, we feel it is important to give something back to the community, in the preservation of our history, particularly our National Library which houses such a rich heritage," said Matthew von Brockdorff, Atlas deputy managing director. Banif contributes to the Physically Handicapped Rehabilitation Fund BANIF Bank has underlined its commitment to supporting vulnerable sectors of society by sponsoring the Physically Hand- icapped Rehabilitation Fund (PHRF). The PHRF, which has been op- erating for over 70 years, provides various services to persons with disabilities with the main objec- tive of assisting and facilitating their integration into society. Among these services are the provision of mobility aids, trans- portation services, computer classes, workshops, and the or- ganisation of sports and enter- tainment activities. A number of beneficiaries of this fund are also being involved in the administra- tion of the center. "The excellent work being car- ried out by the PHRF is very much in line with Banif 's values," said Karl Dingli, head of corpo- rate services who presented the donation to PHRF chairperson Georgia Tabone (picture) on be- half of the bank. "We strongly believe in inclu- sion, and in offering the same op- portunities and the best possible quality of life to all members of society. The Bank is pleased to be able to assist the PHRF in fulfill- ing its noble mission." GasanMamo employees on their culinary tour