President Myriam Spiteri Debono on Tuesday kicked off the BOV Piggy Bank Campaign, one of the major components of the end-of-year L-Istrina charity  fund-raiser. 

The Piggy Bank campaign will see fundraising events in schools all over Malta and Gozo.

Sp[iteri Debono told a press conference that it was important that schoolchildren recognised the importance of helping those in need, and campaigns such as this helped promote the value of altruism. 

Present for the launch were Education Minister Clifton Grima, the shadow minister for education Justin Schembri, and Bank of Valletta CEO Kenneth Farrugia. 

Sina Bugeja, chairperson of Malta Community Chest Fund, which organises L-Istrina, urged the schools to create a sense of community as part of this campaign.

This is the 21th edition of the campaign, which has so far raised more than €3 million.