Meeting older people on a regular basis feels like a visit to a library with endless bookshelves full of wisdom on almost anything under the sun. 

The seasoned faces, with their smiling but humble eyes are a constant reminder that ageing, after all, is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength. I must admit that never before had I understood Robert Browning's line any better: "Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be."

 

Annual award for active ageing

Last Tuesday, with these thoughts in mind, I launched this year's award for the elderly person who has distinguished him/herself in the community – Premju Anzjanità tas-Sena. Local councils and other organisations are invited to nominate elders from their locality who have been showing an active enthusiasm to contribute towards a better life within their community. An expert selection board, chaired by Prof Charles Borg, will evaluate all entries in the coming weeks until the award is presented later in October.

It is undeniable that most of our voluntary organisations are densely populated with older persons that have chosen to remain active and offer their expertise in many cultural, sportive and philanthropic fields. In many aspects they lead by eloquent examples of righteousness and dedication. In itself this is a great social wealth for the whole nation and the government feels duty bound to acknowledge such a rich contribution to community life.

Looking at old age through the perspective of the modern concept of active ageing, an Irish colleague a few months back said: "In youth the days are short and the years are long; in old age the years are short and the days long but full of determination to serve and lead those around me." These I believe are the basic sentiments that encourage our elders to prolong their lives in good health with courage and love for their immediate family and the whole community.

 

Preparedness for better service

The sense of serving is something that few are born or endowed with, but dedicated and high quality service provided to the elderly or people with disabilities requires incessant training and preparedness. It is a vocation which needs to be nurtured and supported by all in order to enrich it with further knowledge and further strengths.

This is exactly the line of action I have been adamant about ever since t I was given the portfolio for the elderly and disability sectors.  Establishing a proper in-house training centre at St Vincent de Paul is only the physical aspect of our incessant endeavours to have fully and professionally trained workers in the service of both sectors. More than a thousand employees – both in Malta and in Gozo – have attended induction or refresher courses over the last two years. The added value is that my Secretariat together with the Administration of St Vincent de Paul signed an agreement with the University of Malta to provide academic accreditation to such courses, which besides consolidating the high level of training for better output in serving older people, encourages employees – basically care-workers – to further their self-enrichment and proceed to develop their careers.

It was quite overwhelming in fact on Tuesday when I attended the presentation of certificates to the first group of 90 carers who now have certified recognition from the University of Malta. University Rector Prof. Alfred J, Vella and St Vincent's CEO Dr Josianne Cutajar and I spoke about these first ever training programmes and their relevance for our collaborators in the elderly sector. They will certainly be fully aware of the nation's investment in their skills and will in turn increase the quality of their services.

 

Back to school

The coming weeks will see the reopening of schools with thousands of children eager to meet their new teachers and class mates. Some children however, might not be so super thrilled about the first day of school. Along with earlier bedtimes and homework, students often bemoan a new school year because it means adjusting to change. While some children love change, it could mean some sort of fear or worry for others. 

These worries, together with some longish to-do lists, may become challenging situations for parents and teachers alike. Like all other mothers I too acknowledge these anxieties and can empathise wholeheartedly with other parents who may require extra convincing powers to persuade their children to love returning to their classrooms for the coming nine months or so.

Thanks to my colleague Minister Evarist Bartolo and a whole cohort of dedicated educators, the gap between scholastic years has in real terms been narrowed drastically through SkolaSajf over the summer months. Over 11,500 young students attended morning school sessions where a more relaxed atmosphere through games and crafts, helped our children establish new friendships and practise the art of team building and teamwork.  My Parliamentary Secretariat has also contributed by attracting more than 200 primary schoolchildren in extra-curricular activities through our Talenti+ and 4Kids programmes in Gozo.

Parents will surely acknowledge that a lot is being done by the State throughout the holidays for children to start accepting the basic concept that learning is an on-going life-long process.

 

Three closing notes

1.      Sincere appreciation is due to my former colleague Leo Brincat for his excellent performance at the European Parliament on Monday. Leo showed his professional ability to rise above some unfair questioning, evidently instigated by an Opposition that spares no effort to disseminate partisan venom against the Labour government in all possible venues. Leo’s financial and banking credentials are high for all to acknowledge, albeit in a lower voice than when shooting arrows at him. The final secret vote was definitely unfair on Malta's candidate for the European Court of Auditors, and all people of good wish him a more conscientious and responsible outcome at the plenary session.

2.      May I reiterate my earlier repeated calls for avoiding further damage to the Azure window at Dwejra. We are all aware that it is the most popular natural attraction in Gozo and a UNESCO world heritage site.  My colleague Gavin Gulia and the Malta Tourism Authority he leads have spelled out their concerns on the dangerous state of the site.  Visitors are expected to heed the warnings by the San Lawrenz Local Council to avoid further risks to their own lives and to the window itself. 

3.      While mentioning San Lawrenz village, I must express my appreciation for the encouraging turnout of residents at a meeting about dementia last Wednesday. It was the first of a series of training sessions to members of the community in our pilot-project to have the first ever dementia-friendly community on these islands. A big well done to the mayor and councillors for their constant collaboration with my Secretariat. It is an encouraging model of how working together can strengthen inclusivity and accessibility within our communities.