The festive season of Christmas and New Year is now officially and during this period a characteristic Maltese quality was very evident: the spirit of solidarity and generosity. As a nation we all respond to the call for solidarity. As a Gozitan, I am very proud that for the first time our Head of State, her Excellency the President of Malta, was present in Gozo so as to solicit Gozitan help and solidarity for l-Istrina. Gozitans responded heartily and very positively, as always, but this gesture by Her Excellency was truly and greatly appreciated
During the festive season Gozo adopted a different image. I want to congratulate my colleague, the Gozo Minister, for another successful Bethlehem in Ghajnsielem. This idea behind this event came several years ago from a group of people who had always devoted their efforts to their village of Ghajnsielem and it just gets better and better.
The bomb threat on the Gozo Channel ferry was truly a shame. As I have always said over the years, I firmly believe that we need a Bomb Disposal Unit in Gozo. This was not the first time that a bomb threat was made in Gozo and although, luckily, no bomb materialised, we cannot take any risks with such issues.
During the last few weeks the Parliamentary Secretariat has been working on new services for the elderly to be launched in Gozo shortly - in both the disability and the elderly sectors. Both these sectors are in dire need of services and assistance and, after years of waiting, we will have structures and services in place to ensure that various needs are addressed
With regard to services for the elderly, we are currently working on three projects that are very important. We will be offering respite services for Gozitan families, which people will be able to use - free of charge - for a maximum period of three weeks. With this service we will be helping families by providing care for their elderly relatives.
We will also launch a night service for the elderly. We know that a common concern for the elderly is solitude and the fear of sleeping alone during the evening. We will open the first night shelter in Gozo, which will be situated in the locality of Ghajnsielem. Elderly residents will be given new facilities and modern services for the night and they will be served and helped by caring professionals to meet their needs.
In a few weeks we will also be launching the first National Strategy for Dementia. We know that this is an ever-growing problem and as part of this strategy we will be introducing new services to help those suffering from this condition, as well as their caring families. In the light of this we will also be launching a new day service for dementia sufferers, staffed by professional people trained to care for people with this condition - which is an essential service.
We are currently in the process of seeking the right people to help with such services and will be officially launching job advertisements for these much-needed services. These will be new services in Gozo and they will certainly make a difference in our lives. Anyone needing any help or who wishes for more information regarding such projects is encouraged to call our dedicated freephone number 8007 2367.
These projects are just the start and we have many more in the pipeline to address the needs of the elderly in Gozo. We are seeking to provide other day services and active ageing centres in Gozo and new initiatives. More is yet to come.