Letters to the editor – January 12, 2026

Fire safety

Joseph Galea of Sliema writes:

The recent deadly fire in Crans Montana, Switzerland, made me think. 

A video screen grab of the fire in a restaurant in Crans Montana, Switzerland. Photo: AFP

How many local restaurants would pass a serious fire safety inspection? I suspect many would not. 

Thank you, again

Fr Gerard Bonello of Lahore writes:

I have been serving in our MSSP High School, in Asif town #2, Lahore, since October 2010. Our catchment area is mostly Christian but we have only one criterion for entry: age. 

Our school lies in the heart of an industrial area which houses several multinational textile and pharmaceutical companies. The parents of many of our boys are employed there. One direct result of jobs being available is that rent is exorbitant – the equivalent of a half a month’s salary. In many cases, both parents are forced to work simply to survive.

We MSSP offer a high school education to the boys coming from these families. We charge PKR 300 [€1] at Play Group Level and PKR 600 at Class 10 level. A tenth of the boys pay no fees and we help them with books and stationery.

Moreover, we also run another project by which we help cover most of the fees of young people from our parish who go in for higher studies. Higher education is very costly here and well beyond the means of most of our families. In Malta, we are blessed with free education at all levels. The average wage of a factory hand is about PKR 35,000 monthly. Fees for B.Sc. nursing range from PKR 150,000 to PKR 200,000 per semester.

We are very grateful to the Mission Fund who support our work among these boys, year in, year out. The public is urged to send the Mission Fund used stamps and / or donations with which they could help the various Maltese missionaries in Third World countries. Donations may be made online or by direct bank transfer to one of the following accounts:

BOV: IBAN No.: MT70VALL220130000000 16300798022,

APS:  IBAN No.: MT67APSB77079005231820000 820762,

BNF:  IBAN No.: MT94BNIF1450200000000087963101

LOM: IBAN NO.: MT65LBMA05000000000001440822115     

Once again: Thank you Mission Fund. God’s blessings.