Mellieħa Councillor Collects 120 Boxes Of Food For People In Need: ‘I Was Devastated By What I Saw At House Visits’
Christmas is meant to be about giving, and a Mellieħa councillor lived up to that mantra this year by collecting over 120 boxes of food for the needy.
Ivan Castillo started off his initiative this month with a simple Facebook post urging people to lend a helping hand to people going through hard times.
“Only by giving can we ever receive more than we already have,” he said, quoting St Francis of Assisi.
“These are hard times for many, it is by the little we all give, that will help the many! I have seen first hand, the difficulties many families are facing. We can all do our small part to help those who need it the most!”
People and businesses reached out to him over the coming weeks and he ended up collecting around 120 boxes of food, which he will send to various parish churches in his district to distribute to people in need.
“I have been doing house visits in the district for over a month and I have been devastated by what people were telling me and what I was seeing,” he said.
“People need help and felt that I had to do something. How can I expect people to trust me if I cannot identify their problems and provide some sort of solution? Even if it is just by helping in the immediate sense, long term vision is needed.”