Small
deeds can lead to big results. Victor Mizzi ran a scout group in Malta in the
1950s. He went on to run his own very successful business, but even when he was
helping out with the scouts he showed signs of enterprise and determination. He
once contacted Lord Mountbatten, then Admiral of the British Fleet, and
arranged for a group of 300 scouts from Malta to travel to the UK by warship. No
mean feat to achieve!
He went to
school at Jesuit Saint Aloysius College in Birkirkara. He later started his own charter company Belleair
holidays in 1974 and was highly successful. In fact, he was so successful that
he made enough money to retire before the age of 50. Something I have heard so
many dream of doing but never quite manage.
When the Chernobyl disaster happened Victor
became aware of the shortages of supplies afflicting hospitals and orphanages
in Belarus. 70% of the radiation fallout landed in Belarus and it impacted 2.5
million people with health consequences in an area that was already very
depressed economically and suffering from crippling poverty. The result of the
radiation was a huge increase in thyroid cancers and many children were born
with malformed limbs or even multiple congenital deformities. It is thought that 250,000 children were exposed
to varying degrees of radiation in Belarus.
Showing his usual terrier type tenacity Victor
Mizzi continued to offer medicine and supplies to as many hospitals and orphanages
in Belarus as he could. It was while he was visiting one of the orphanages that
an incident happened which changed the course of his life. While in the
orphanage a small three-year-old boy called Igor Pavlovetts, who had been born
badly deformed, toddled over and offered the Maltese businessman a piece of
bread.
It was an unexpected act of kindness that led to a transformation.
Victor was so touched by the small child that he arranged for him to be flown
to the UK to receive medical treatment. While Igor was in the UK, Victor
arranged for him to stay in a foster home. Following extensive physiotherapy
and support, Igor grew in confidence and ability.
Mind you, some of the artificial limbs and
aids used for the disabled were pretty crude in those days and nothing like the
state-of-the-art technology available today. An old film of Igor's life shows his devastation when his "new legs" turned out to be just huge black crude boots with six-inch soles on them. The small child had obviously been expecting more natural-looking and more comfortable legs. But Igor's natural optimism and resilience shine through as he smiles at everyone around him despite his disappointment. Igor went on to have an independent life in the UK and has since married
and had three children of his own.
Such an injection of generosity from Victor
Mizzi could have ended with this one life being transformed. However, Victor
was only getting started. Realising that so many children in Belarus were
suffering ill-health as a result of the radiation, he started a scheme to allow
Belarus children to travel abroad for 3 to 4 weeks so that their systems could
recover in healthier climes. In time he would arrange for 56,000 children to
have holidays outside Belarus and their immune systems benefited enormously from
these breaks. Such were his powers of
persuasion that he even convinced British Airways, Belavia and Ukraine International
Airlines to give all the children involved free travel to these destinations. The charity he started so many years ago
still runs today and has touched so many young lives.
So often in life, we miss these tiny but
significant acts of kindness. Surrounded by the corruption and competition we
might not even see the outstretched hand of a small child offering us bread.
Even if we noticed it and felt a wave of sympathy for this tiny disabled child
how many of us would have just moved on.
It took just one man, Victor Mizzi to see the boy, feel compassion and
then arise to act, to make all the difference. That one act triggered an
avalanche of endeavours that continue to influence children’s health in Belarus
to this day.
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| Victor and Igor in the early years |
Victor Mizzi passed away aged 84 in the UK in March 2019
and in the week before his death was visited by a journalist who recalled
Victor saying to them “Always help others, when you have a chance.”
"Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity."
Baha’u’llah
