The Companion Flag now flies proudly in Malta, thanks to the participation of George Schinas Primary School in Luqa. Head of School Ms. Karmen Tedesco has been instrumental in arranging the adoption of the Companion Flag, and hopefully George Schinas Primary School will lead the way to further schools adopting the Companion Flag in Malta.

Malta is a relatively small island country located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. George Schinas Primary School, formerly known as Luqa Primary School, has been home to the young students of Luqa since 1930. For more details about this school, click here.

Through e-mail correspondence with Scott Wyatt at Companion Flag Support International, Ms. Tedesco was intrigued by the idea and the message that the Companion Flag represents. Even though the 2003 school season had just started in Malta, she and her administrative staff graciously made time on the second day of school to arrange for a presentation by four Companion Flag Ambassadors, Jennifer and Winston Yeung, and Rochelle and Scott Wyatt.

So, it was on September 23, 2003 that Jennifer and Winston, as part of their One Year, One World tour, and Rochelle and Scott, as a two-day detour from their vacation in Italy, found themselves walking up the steps of George Schinas Primary School in Luqa (pronounced "Lu-ah"), a small town in the middle of Malta. Greeted warmly by the school staff, Ms. Tedesco, Mary Ann, Wilma, and Raymond the custodian, the four travellers were treated to the famous Maltese hospitality. As the school was undergoing renovations and the sun was too hot to allow a full school assembly in the courtyard, arrangements were made for a presentation of the Companion Flag to a group of year fives and sixes.

Scott explained the message of the Companion Flag to the assembled children, and then presented a brand new Maltese flag accompanied by the Companion Flag to the children of George Schinas Primary School. Winston then spoke about their trip around the world and about visits to schools in other countries. Two students then made gifts of Maltese flags to the ambassadors, which will be passed on to children from another Companion Flag school. As Ms. Tedesco said, "We can perhaps make some connections between the children of our countries here today, and in the future, who knows what could happen."

After the classroom presentation, the group moved out to the courtyard where the Companion Flag was raised on Malta for the very first time. The staff then treated the four ambassadors to some tea and refreshments before wishing them bon voyage. It was an extremely successful day for both George Schinas Primary school and the Companion Flag, and everybody looks forward to continued interaction in the future.