Ten groups of volunteers are about to assemble 40,320 pieces of the world's largest Disney puzzle in order to raise money for Puttinu cares.

The Malta Independent on Sunday asked puzzle enthusiast and brains behind the idea, Steven Galea, about the aim of the project. Galea said that after assembling the jigsaw and laminating it, it would be donated to Puttinu Cares, hoping to raise €40,320, one euro for each piece, and for the puzzle to be placed in one of the children's wards at Mater Dei.

The 22-foot wide and 6-foot tall puzzle will feature colourful and bright scenes from classic Disney films, including Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Cinderella and more.

A tour around Galea's office quickly reveals his passion for jigsaws, where a puzzle which has been laminated and framed hangs on nearly every wall. He has roughly over 30 puzzles just at his workspace.

"This has always been my hobby" he states, explaining that through Facebook, Galea came across a group of people who shared his similar interest in puzzles. From there he found that one man had assembled a jigsaw and given it to a hospital, "I thought well that's a nice idea". Galea decided to try something similar but on a bigger scale. Purchasing one of the largest puzzles in the world, Galea called on friends and family to see who would be willing to help.

"The jigsaw comes in 10 bags, so it made it possible to split off into 10 groups, making it a group effort" he said. "The idea initially was to assemble the puzzle and then have it framed and put up in a children's ward, but then I thought is this enough? I came across shocking statistics that every month, around 90 children from Malta go to England for medical treatment. This costs Puttinu €20 million a year. I knew then that this idea needed to evolve so that we could collect money for these children and their families," Galea said.

"When it's finished it will be really beautiful" Galea explained, emphasising that none of this could have been done without the many people who were willing to give up their time and money to such a cause.

"This is my idea and I am coordinating it, but without all these people who have sprung out of nowhere, who volunteered within two weeks of voicing my ideas, it would not be possible."

The deadline for the puzzle to be completed is May 2018, the day of the Puttinu Marathon. Donations can be made by sending an SMS on the following numbers:

50617380 - €2.33; 50618939 - €6.99; 506199225 - €11.65, or by deposit or transferring into BOV account 40020775252