PORT MARIA, St Mary — For more than 30 years, Friends of Port Maria has been making an invaluable contribution to the seaside village and surrounding districts through health and education initiatives.

The organisation was conceptualised by Lorna Fairweather, in her New York living room, with a few friends who had direct and indirect ties to the parish. Over the decades the group has focused heavily on supporting students. At Port Maria Primary School it provides annual Primary Exit Profile (PEP) cash scholarships to the three top-performing students to help with school expenses. The awards are made during the annual graduation ceremony, and many lives have been positively impacted.,

“One year after, a parent saw me and came to me and told me thanks, almost [moved] to tears. I was oblivious to what she was talking about,” Fairweather said as she recalled one moment that underscored the impact of the work being done by the organisation she launched.