Above: Daniela Schembri, President of LAND

The Vodafone Malta Foundation supported a group of people who form part of the Living Ability not Disability (LAND) organization. The Maltese youths joined another 350 youths from all over the world. The annual Summer Camp was held in August in Balatonfoldvar, Hungary.

“We are very pleased to be supporting such initiatives and it helps in knowing that we are raising much needed awareness on the LAND organisation,” said Roberta Pace, from Vodafone Malta Foundation. “Through these funds we will endeavor to ensure that more and more youths with disabilities have the opportunity to enjoy the joy and benefits of camps abroad and to be in touch with different people from different cultural backgrounds.”

The fun filled Summer camp consisted of a week full of activities, sports, games and cultural tours, including beach games, board games, swimming in Lake Balaton, pottery and sweets decorating. Youths were thrilled when taken on excursions, with the first one being a visit to the Formula 1 track in Hungary. Among all the activities were an International night, a visit to the Zoo and the Lazar  Equestrian Park where they watched one of the amazing shows and ate various typical Hungarian dishes. The Malta team also took a boat trip to some interesting sightseeing areas and visited the Annagora Aquapark. Every evening a themed disco was organized for the youths and the Summer Camp closed off with a visit to Budapest by night.

Daniela Schembri, President of LAND said, “I must say that we have learnt and grew a lot from these experiences and together we made the camp a successful one. The organization of the whole event was great and everyone was really helpful. This amazing camp would not have been possible without the help of relatives, assistants and sponsors such as the Vodafone Malta Foundation. This event gave us the possibility to interact with different people from around the world and everyone participated .”

Living Ability Not Disability was established in 2002 with the objectives to educate, enhance the independence of persons with a physical disability and promote inclusion through mainstream socialization. LAND is the only organization in Malta that embraces persons with physical disability and non-disabled persons in order to interact together during activities thus developing friendships whilst creating an awareness of social inclusion in all spheres of life.

Mary Jo Abela, on of the helpers together with Daniela Schembri