Almost 15 years ago, a man turned up at the doorsteps of Gozo’s Franciscan church in Victoria with money and a vision to build a home in India for adults and children living with terminal illnesses.

A local priest, Fr Joe Cilia, rolled up his sleeves and made that vision come true in the form of Assisi Snehalaya, a care home in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Mr Bugeja with one of the home's young residents.Mr Bugeja with one of the home's young residents.

Assisi Snehalaya, which means ‘house of love’ in Tamil, is home to many children born with HIV who need care, housing and education.

It is now in dire need of repair, and a local volunteer group is raising money to ensure this Maltese-rooted care centre in India can continue its mission.

Mission4changes is just €4,000 away from its €55,000 crowdfunding goal to repair roofs at the house, which are taking in water and set to collapse unless urgently repaired.

The funds will be used to fix damage and install canopies over the roofs which will be connected to cisterns and used to harvest rainwater for irrigation.

“Engineer Carmelo Fenech visited the home and found that rainwater hitting the home during monsoon season is extensively damaging the building,” explained Mission4changes’ leader Anselmo Bugeja.

“The plan is to use the same source of destruction as a resource to maintain and sustain Assisi Snehalaya,” he explained.

To learn more about the project or to donate towards repairing and restoring the Malta-linked care home, visit the project’s campaign page on crowdfunding platform Zaar.

For these children, Assisi Snehalaya is home.For these children, Assisi Snehalaya is home.

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