A group of BNF Bank staff members volunteered their time to take part in an extensive clean-up of the underground flour mill in Xemxija on November 20. A contribution was also made by BNF Bank towards the future restoration of the historical site.

This initiative was carried out by BNF’s St Paul’s Bay branch in collaboration with the St Paul’s Bay local council.

With environment, philanthropy, culture and heritage at the heart of BNF Bank’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy, focusing on the Xemxija mill represented an opportunity to look after an important piece of Maltese heritage in great need of upkeep, which was itself conceived to preserve the survival of the Maltese community.

The underground flour mill in Xemxija, in fact, was built by the British in the 1950s in the beginning of the Cold War, to keep providing flour and prevent shortage of food in case of a nuclear attack. Today, it is the only underground mill in working state out of eight emergency mills built around Malta and Gozo.

St Paul’s Bay branch manager Kurt Pulis is proud of this successful initiative.

“As a local bank, we are committed to playing an active role in our community. Heritage is part of our culture and we believe it is our duty to help preserving it. I am grateful to all the team members that took part in organising and carrying out the clean-up, and to the St Paul’s Bay local council that helped us make this happen,” he said.

Alfred Grima, St Paul’s Bay’s local council’s mayor, expressed his appreciation towards BNF Bank’s efforts: “This is a tangible contribution towards enabling our residents to enjoy the heritage found in St Paul’s Bay. The clean-up of the area around the mill room is making visits more accessible, with further improvement being brought about by the upcoming restoration.”

In line with a sense of cooperation, responsibility and empathy, the clean-up also served as an occasion to build stronger relationships between BNF staff members at the St Paul’s Bay branch and staff from another 12 BNF bank branches who joined the clean-up.

This commitment forms part of a series of ‘Branch in the Community’ initiatives by BNF Bank, bringing forward a concrete vision to bring about positive change through the continuous cooperation between the bank and the territories and communities in which it operates.