Jake Vella, Karl Gouder, Lorenzo Vella all posthumously honoured in Republic Day ceremony

Jake Vella, Karl Gouder, and Lorenzo Vella were all posthumously honoured during the annual Republic Day ceremony, where the country’s highest honours are conferred.They were awarded the Midalja ghall-Qadi tar-Repubblika on Friday – the c

By: independent.com.mt

Dec 13 2024
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Jake Vella, Karl Gouder, Loren

Jake Vella, Karl Gouder, and Lorenzo Vella were all posthumously honoured during the annual Republic Day ceremony, where the country’s highest honours are conferred.

They were awarded the Midalja ghall-Qadi tar-Repubblika on Friday – the country’s highest honour – with the honour being conferred to their respective families by President Myriam Spiteri Debono at the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta.

Jake Vella passed away in August this year at the age of 15, having battled a rare condition called ROHHAD; Rapid-onset Obesity with Hypothalamic dysfunction, Hypoventilation, and Autonomic Dysregulation for all his life.

Jake Vella stole many people's hearts with his courage and determination to fight his condition and had organised a series of swimming challenges and other events to raise awarness about the condition as well as raise funds for abandoned animals, including an event which was done in collaboration with the wife of Prime Minister Lydia Abela. His fighting spirit pushed him to practise boxing and learn to play the drums, guitar and piano.

Lorenzo Vella also sadly passed away in the month of August, at the age of 43 after a short illness. Formerly part of the Labour Party’s youth movements, he went on to have a distinguished career in the world of foreign relations, and was the head of Malta’s European Commission Representation when he passed away.

Karl Gouder passed away tragically a month later, in September, at the age of 45. A former Nationalist Party MP and mayor of St Julian’s, Gouder at the time was the Chief Operations Officer in the party’s media arm and was set to be the party’s next Secretary General.

This is a developing story – refresh the page for updates.