ACN Malta offers to collect empty plastic bottles to help raise funds
Bags of empty bottles are being collected on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for free
The Malta office of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is collecting empty plastic bottles in a new initiative to help Christians suffering religious discrimination or persecution.
All one has to do is call the NGO between 8am and 4pm, Monday to Friday, on 2148 7818, and ACN will pick the bottles themselves.
The bags are currently being collected on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“Don’t throw away any empty plastic bottles – instead, let them fill hearts with hope,” said Stephen Axisa, director of ACN Malta.
Founded in 1947, ACN is a pontifical foundation that falls directly under the pope’s authority. In recent years, ACN has greatly helped Christians in Ukraine and in Gaza, among many other countries around the world.
ACN provides, among other things, clean drinking water, food, medicines, as well as medical equipment to provide relief to Christians going through a life of daily turmoil.
“What is somewhat of a consolation in these tragic human events, as Pope Leo XIV calls them, is the fact that in many cases the little we give means a lot to these people,” Axisa said.
Asked to give even a small indication of the cost of the aid provided by ACN (Malta), Axisa replied: “In countries where we help Christians like us, for every 50 bottles we collect from those who wish to be our benefactors through this initiative, we offer a school lunch in aid of a poor girl or boy. For every 80 bottles, we offer a hot meal; for every 100 bottles we offer a blanket for a displaced girl or boy. With 200 empty plastic bottles we will be able to offer a fee for a school year for a displaced girl or boy. All this aid will be delivered to the schools and centres from where it will be distributed.”
More information about ACN (Malta) can be found on the website www.acnmalta.org, or by calling 2148 7818.