The dilapidated Villa Bianca in Birkirkara will be regenerated into a music centre for children with disabilities and autism, the first centre of its kind in Malta.
The government announced that it would be supporting the project with a grant of €58,543 which will be issued by the Housing Authority to the Malta Trust Foundation, led by President Emeritus Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, to carry out the necessary restoration.
The project will cost a total of €100,487 and an investment of €250,000 each year, funded by the Malta Trust Foundation.
Coleiro Preca signed the agreement on Saturday with social accommodation minister Roderick Galdes and Housing Authority chief Leonid McKay. A number of NGOs, including the The Down Syndrome Association, The Autism Parents Association, and ADVICE, are also involved in the project.
Galdes said the villa was donated by private owners Maurice and Francina Abela to the Malta Trust Foundation for the benefit of children and young people with disabilities, a vision which was now being made possible with the start of restoration works.
“This villa is being transformed into an environment that meets the needs of these children with different abilities. It would have been easier to do only the repair and maintenance works needed in this villa, but as we are doing in specialized housing projects together with a number of NGOs, we are thinking of the needs of the persons who will be making use of these houses from the very beginning,” Galdes said.
"Thanks to these funds, children with autism and people with disabilities who find comfort in music will be able to learn more and continue developing their skills,” said Minister Galdes.
President Emeritus Coleiro Preca, as chair of the Malta Trust Foundation said the "historic" project would fill a gap in the field of music and performing arts for those children with diverse needs who had previously not had t heopportunity to develop these skills.
"Through a specialized service, this inclusion project will give these children an opportunity to enjoy music and the performing arts all the while growing and flourishing in these areas to reach their full potential," she said.