About the 
Tara Malou Licari
Road Safety Fund

Tara, my daughter is what huGGs is all about. All proceeds from Huggs go into the Tara Malou Licari Road Safety fund which mainly aims to work with youths and novice drivers to encourage a safer road ethic and prevent deaths and injuries on the road. 

Tara was 17 when she tragically lost her life in a road traffic accident in her home country Malta.  Ever since then , back in 2016, the family has been raising funds to work with Maltese national experts and public health professionals as well as other authorities such as the Road Safety Council and the education sector.  Working with senior experts in the WHO Regional Office for Europe, as well as youth NGOs such as FEVR and YOURs (both based in Brussels), the fund has expanded its activities into a regional one. 

First Activities 

 The fund’s first contributions were to assist with the purchase of breathalysers and other equipment by the NGO JESS (Justice to ensure safer streets) which was also set up in the name of another 21 year old traffic victim,  Jessica Tabone.  This equipment was donated to the Gozo police. When the NGO JESS decided to close down, Tara’s family assisted the NGO in its handover to the medical community.  JESS became known as D4RS (doctors for road safety).  The fund contributed seed money to D4RS to enable it to set up shop.  D4RS now works to promote road safety policies and training of the community.  So far, D4RS has trained a number of doctors in emergency care at the road side as well as students in schools and colleges. D4RS continues to promote the need for due diligence on the road through regular press and media releases 

The Tara Malou Road Safety Fund organised a first youth conference in 2017 which was opened by the President of Malta and which was organised together with the Public Health Division in the Ministry of Health.  Over 80 youths attended the one day workshop were they heard from WHO and Maltese experts about the dangers of drink driving and speeding.  During this workshop the youths also spent the afternoon in role play to understand that the responsibility does not only lie with the authorities but actually starts with themselves.  

A second conference was organized in Malta the following year, with the attendance of the UN envoy for road safety, Mr Jean Todt.  This conference also involved youths and experts from FEVR and YOURs who were brought over from various European countries to share their experiences.  Together with Maltese victims of road traffic accidents, they told their stories to an audience made up of medical professionals as well as youth.  

A third conference was held in 2019 which was held at the MCAST institute in Malta.  Here members of the road safety council as well as public health professionals and experts from WHO shared information and experiences with the youths and novice drivers – the main message: the car is a lethal weapon and must be used in a responsible manner.  

Source of Funding

All these activities and more are the result of generous donations by family and friends who would contribute small amounts into the fund on a regular basis to enable just enough for the next activity.  Although donations continue to  flow into the fund, the main source of income is now through the sale of huGGs toys (huGGs.dk).  Through orders for these home made crocheted toys, the fund continues to grow and is therefore able to work on more projects with the authorities concerned, in Malta and in other European countries, with the expert assistance provided by The WHO Regional Office for Europe. 

We would therefore like to thank all of you who have chosen to purchase huGGs because it is thanks to this that the fund Is able to continue its work on ensuring safer roads for us all but especially for our children and youth.