Microsoft Malta employees recently stayed away from their offices and computers to do community work at Dar Qalb ta’ Gesu in Santa Venera, a shelter for abused women and children who have experienced domestic violence.

This was Microsoft’s first project of corporate volunteering in Malta. One of the main tasks during this voluntary event was the plastering and painting of two rooms, which are in the process of being transformed into “digital libraries”, where the home’s residents will have easy access to computers, the Internet as well as printing facilities.

“Good logistics and efforts resulted in a very efficient project, making this first Community Day for Microsoft Malta, a successful one,” said Fiorella Ellul Sullivan from Microsoft Malta.

“The success of this event was further enhanced thanks to the kind collaboration of the Malta Communication Authority that partnered us specifically for this event by donating five refurbished PCs loaded with Windows and Office to be installed in these libraries.”

She added, “Besides a successful event, this was also an experience for all our employees to learn more about the difficulties encountered by people living this harsh reality in our society. Therefore we are very proud to have had this opportunity to alleviate a bit of the hardships encountered by the residents at Dar Qalb ta’ Gesu. As a follow up to this event, Microsoft Malta employees will now be going a step further by helping to teach the people residing in the home basic digital literacy.”

The philanthropic work at Dar Qalb ta’ Gesu was initiated by a woman named Adelaide Cini, a Maltese lady whose benevolence in the 19th century earned her the respect and admiration of many. Adelaide Cini was born in 1835 into a well-to-do family and, after her father’s death, she took into her care women and children who were living off prostitution or who had a criminal record. Her efforts and the home she founded were later developed in what it is now known for today – to help women and children victims of domestic violence achieve independent living through a therapeutic programme.

“The older children and young mothers have been clamouring for such equipment and have been yearning to further their knowledge of IT,” Marie Testa, Administrator at Dar Qalb ta’ Gesu said. “This was a great opportunity for them to do so and we are very grateful to Microsoft Malta for its generous initiative.” She is hopeful that this equipment and the proposed teaching sessions will enable the children to keep abreast with other children at school. It will also help mothers to learn alongside their children to understand what the children are saying when they talk “computer jargon”.