The opening of the Eden Foundation’s new residential centre in Marsascala yesterday is of profound significance to the foundation, as it is days away from its 14th anniversary, said founder and Board of Trustees president Josie Muscat.

“The new centre is the fulfilment of the foundation’s belief that disabled people have the potential to succeed, given they are provided with the necessary education,” said Dr Muscat.

He added that the foundation has identified three categories of disabled people: those who are fit for employment, those who can be employed with a measure of supervision and for which Eden created Eden Coop, and those who fit in neither category. This category would have been limited to day centres, said Dr Muscat, were it not for Eden’s initiative to train them to lead a more independent life.

He thanked the Family and Social Solidarity Ministry for financing 40 per cent of the project and also thanked Sandro Chetcuti for putting a maisonette at the disposal of the four residents and their two tutors.

The maisonette is located at Zonqor Point in Marsascala and enjoys a breathtaking view of the surrounding countryside. It consists of a large open plan living/kitchen, four bedrooms, a main bathroom and a courtyard. All the rooms have been furnished apart from the bedrooms, which will be furnished and painted according to the residents’ own liking.

Community and Inclusion Programme Coordinator Kenneth Aquilina said that during the first part of the programme, participants had been taken out to Paceville and to 40-hour sleepovers in which they learnt how to clean and to prepare food. Now, he said, they will move a step forward and enjoy a greater measure of independence – which, until a few years ago, was unheard of in the country.