Dar il-Kaptan in Mtarfa, a respite home for physically and intellectually challenged people has, thanks to funds from the Vodafone Malta Foundation, extended and improved its play area to make it accessible to all residents and guests.

The new equipment in the playing area is intended to increase the participation and social involvement of residents, where play doubles up as a form of therapy and together with other forms of support enhances the development of skills for life. The home’s outside recreational area now boasts a swing especially made to take wheelchairs, basketball tubes, an hourglass panel and a xylophone panel. Dar il-Kaptan’s outside play area now can be used by wheelchair-bound people, making it one of a kind.

“We are always striving to improve our services,” said chairwoman Jennifer Sant. “Dar il-Kaptan provides respite and day services to more than 220 families. The large number of people we host means our play area needed to be extended and upgraded so that more people with disabilities can enjoy some physical and mental respite from everyday life. We are very grateful for the support given to us by the Vodafone Malta Foundation”.

“One of the Foundation’s objectives is to improve the quality of life of those affected by mental and physical problems,” said Vodafone Malta Foundation chairwoman Gemma Mifsud Bonnici. “We recognise the indispensable service that Dar il-Kaptan extends to people with disabilities and their families, and we hope that, with our help, this project will offer them precious moments of respite.”

Dar il-Kaptan, a ‘home away from home’, aims to provide a service similar to the one provided at home. Established in 1991, it offers daily and weekly respite services to over 220 families of people with disabilities, providing them with some respite from the pressures and stress that comes with caring for people with challenging needs. 

The home caters for individuals with all types of disability. The services offered are residential and include rest periods for families and a day programme that focuses on aspects of daily living, social skills and leisure and recreational activities such as handicrafts and light gardening.

In addition to the annual grant from the government, Dar il-Kaptan has to raise around €180,000 every year to cover its costs, bearing in mind that the charges for some 38 per cent of its clients are waived because they fall below the minimum earnings criteria.