A visit to Malta
Federation President Jackie reports on her visit to this welcoming Mediterranean island
With The help of a hoist, everyone can enjoy the wonderful sensory room at Inspire
The welcome I received from the members of SI Malta was as warm as the Mediterranean weather, when I arrived on the island on 16th June to visit the members and their projects. Having transferred to the home of one of the members, there was an opportunity to chat informally before being served a most delicious lunch. What is it about the bond of Soroptimism that gives the feeling that you are old friends, not recently acquainted? I was generously offered home hospitality
with a member who has moved from the UK and settled in Malta.
GUIDING IN MALTA SI Malta has established an excellent project
with the Girl Guides. The project was based on healthy eating advice. The Guides were invited to the Club meeting to receive their award for the project which was a great privilege for me to present. The Guides, of varying ages, attended with their Commissioner. They had drawn on their individual skills to design and print an excellent healthy eating booklet including recipes that were simple to follow and with produce that was easily accessed. The next challenge is to finance the printing of this very colourful booklet, for wider distribution. The Guide Commissioner recognises the similarity between our organisations and potential to work more closely. I couldn’t help but be impressed at the leadership development programmes that the Guides deliver, very different from my Guiding days! A traditional Maltese evening at a restaurant in Mosta brought the day to a conclusion.
PROJECT ‘INSPIRE’ The following day I visited a most impressive
project, originally the vision of one member and her husband to bring able bodied people and disabled people together socially. The project, aptly named ‘Inspire’ was living proof that a dream and a vision can become a reality. Having developed from a small farmhouse building, this project now has a full size indoor
12 SEPTEMBER 2010 Soroptimist News
swimming pool, equipped to enable people of all abilities to swim together, and a fitness room. There is a room equipped with multicoloured, multishaped cushioned blocks and tunnels with a hoist to comfortably and safely manoeuvre less able bodied people to every part of the room. A multi sensory room would be the dream of any venue catering for special needs as would be the white room where mind and body can be calmed – useful for some people prior to therapy. All this was overseen by an occupational therapist. Working with the carers of people with disabilities, she taught them the skills required to become the therapists to those for whom they care. The recreational facilities are open to anyone
wishing to sign up to membership at a more beneficial fee than most leisure centres. This is a very positive project, managing to generate income whilst bringing people of all physical and mental abilities together. Outside a garden area with a mini wildlife park, a great source of entertainment to children. In the garden I was invited to plant a tree; a symbol of growth, strength, shelter and the future. Back in the building we were treated to refreshments in the coffee bar. From one person’s dream, the commitment of Soroptimists, Inspire is a huge success and run by a highly professional team. A truly sustainable project.
HELPING DETAINEES From Inspire, we drove to a detention centre
for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers. SI Malta provided a selection of toiletries for the women detainees and the opportunity to meet with the centre managers gave an insight into additional help Soroptimists give. Although the law of the land determines
that the women must be detained initially, I was very impressed with the positive attitude of the two males responsible for the centre. It was certainly not one of sanction, rather support, understanding and caring.
To talk to the women, to hear their stories and be invited by them to see their rooms and meagre possessions, it became easy to understand how people are so desperate that they will pay anything and take unbelievable risk to leave their homeland and family; everything they love, for the completely unknown, and the real possibility that they may not survive the unknown journey. It will be hard to forget the tears of the woman, wishing to complete her training as a medical doctor and her sadness at the inability to make contact with her family back home. Some of the women would be returned to their home country, many, after the processing, would be allowed to find work on the island; others see Malta as a transit stop en-route to other countries. A peaceful lunch together was quite sobering
after this visit.
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