Gozo for Christmas

With our Gozo for Christmas programme in full swing, the past few weeks have given me particular joy by meeting hundreds of elderly people for the ‘Naħseb Fik’ campaign. Equally enjoyable were my visits to several schools, with the enthusiasm of the younger students to give the best performances – a valued tradition for the festive season. The six-week-long calendar, coordinated by the Gozo Ministry, moves on with a great variety of celebrations, church functions, concerts and exhibitions that make Gozo the place to be at this special time of the year.

Without any doubt, despite all the celebrations, there are some who will still be missing the presence of relatives who have been called to a better life. Losing a close relative is a horrible experience: you feel as if you have been robbed of the time that you could have spent with them. Instead, you are left with a fresh understanding of what life is and you realise how fragile we all are.

This week we bade farewell to an exquisite person, Superintendent Edel Mary Camilleri. For all those who knew her, Edel was the personification of kindness, integrity and empathy. She was truly exemplary. Despite the tears, we move on and cherish the rich values we have been taught by those now departed.

In the same way, we express our traditional solidarity on Wednesday when we join in L-Istrina, a feast of generosity organised by the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation. It is the time when we show that all ailments are for us special opportunities for human solidarity.

May I finally wish all Gozitan and Maltese families, all readers, all the staff at The Malta Independent on Sunday and their loved ones, a very merry Christmas with the blessings of peace and joy!