From Bare Bones to Big Dreams: Building the Honey Badger Youth Club Charity in Malta

Stuart Gray
May 6
3 min read

Starting an NGO in Malta is not for the faint of heart. It’s like trying to build a bonfire on the beach with wet driftwood and no lighter—until someone finally hands you a spark. That’s what the journey has been like for us at the Honey Badger Youth Club Charity: a relentless grind powered by hope, sweat, and a vision of changing lives from the ground up.

The Vision: More Than Just a Club

We dream of a vibrant community hub in Bugibba—a place where youth feel empowered, the homeless are fed daily, and neglected spaces are transformed into living symbols of unity. Unlike the traditional NGOs that seem to orbit the same tired causes year after year, we want to ignite something new. Something bold. Something Malta hasn’t seen before.

But dreaming is the easy part.

The Cost of Compassion

Before we could even whisper the word "charity," we were hit with a barrage of expenses. Registering an NGO in Malta? Not just a signature and a smile. You’re faced with multiple choices: Voluntary Organization through the Commissioner for Voluntary Organizations, enrolling as an Association, Foundation, or Social Purpose Company. Each one comes with different rules, documentation, and yes—costs.

Accountants and legal consultants throw around figures like €300 to €800 just for registration paperwork. Then there’s the annual audit if your funds go above a certain threshold, which means hiring a licensed auditor. Even setting up a simple business bank account requires registration papers, ID checks, and sometimes a reference from an accountant. Nothing moves fast unless you throw money at it.

We had to budget for the essentials:

Accountant fees: €400+
Registration fees: €250+
Website domain and hosting: €150 per year
Business cards and flyers: €100 to start
T-shirt printing for visibility: €8-€15 each depending on quality and quantity
Setting up the Bugibba cleanup event: permits, gloves, bins, water, transport—€200 minimum

It adds up.

The Silent Battle of Getting Noticed

Once you start, you realize the biggest struggle isn’t paperwork or money. It’s visibility. There are over 1,500 registered voluntary organizations in Malta, many of them inactive. The same big-name charities dominate headlines and fundraising while new ones like ours have to scratch and claw for attention.

We began organizing local cleanup events around Bugibba as a way to get our name out there. T-shirts with the Honey Badger logo, flyers in cafés, pop-up booths in the square—it helped. But awareness doesn't pay rent. Or buy meals.

We started a website (www.no-guilt-cafe.com) as our digital home and tried to keep content fresh with blogs and event updates. The SEO game is ruthless. Competing with corporate charities backed by PR teams is no joke. But we stayed creative—emphasizing storytelling, real photos, and community voices.

The Big Dream: Our Own Space

Then the dream got bigger. What if we could make an offer on one of the abandoned buildings in Bugibba or St. Paul’s Bay? They sit there, full of potential. We imagine a vibrant, colorful hub with a community kitchen, art and sports programs, a safe hangout for teens, and daily hot meals for the homeless—something no one else in Malta is doing seven days a week.

Researching property prices and renovation costs was sobering. Acquiring even a derelict space might take upwards of €150,000. Renovations? Easily another €100,000. But this isn’t about money. It’s about belief.

A Challenge to the Future

We want to throw down a spiritual gauntlet: what kind of future do we want for our youth? For our community? For the people Malta’s prosperity has left behind?

We believe a new kind of charity is possible—one that’s not just transactional but transformational. One that doesn’t beg for donations but inspires investment in a shared vision. One that taps into that quiet Maltese pride and says: we can do better. We will do better.

This is our story—not of arrival, but of a journey. A colorful, messy, uphill battle driven by a cause that refuses to give up. We invite you to be part of this movement. Not because we’re asking, but because we believe you might be the kind of person who sees potential in the overlooked.

We’re not just building a charity. We’re building a legacy.

Stay tuned. The best is yet to come.

For updates on our progress and ways to get involved, visit www.no-guilt-cafe.com. The Honey Badger Youth Club is more than a name. It’s a mission. And it’s just getting started. Charity Malta | Charities Malta