Lazio region honours Caritas director

Caritas director Mgr Victor Grech's life-long commitment in social and humanitarian work has been recognised by an international panel of judges.

His compassion towards young people, the weak and drug addicts was also taken into consideration by the 22-strong panel in granting him the award Il Lazio Tra Europa E Mediterraneo (Lazio between Europe and the Mediterranean).

This was the first edition of the award, organised by the Italian region of Lazio with the intention of starting a dialogue between Europe and Mediterranean countries.

Speaking to the media yesterday, a week after the award ceremony was held at Rome's Vittoriano Monument, Mgr Grech expressed surprise at being chosen as the winner.

"I never imagined I would win. And then I got a telegram last week informing me that I would be given the award," he said.

With four days to go, Mgr Grech had to postpone some appointments to be able to go to Rome, he said with a smile.

But, although pleased to have been given the award, Mgr Grech underlined that he never worked for awards.

"I did what I did with a sense of compassion for humans," he said.

He admitted that he works hard, and only sleeps around four hours a day. "That's enough for me." Much of his day is spent at Caritas, where he has worked for the past 30 years.

Mgr Grech said drug abuse in Malta was on the rise and affecting a number of children, sometimes as young as 11 or 12-year-olds, with the most popular drug being heroin.

A staggering 200 people a month knock on Caritas's door for help and the number of those who come forward on their own steam was on the increase.

He highlighted that drug problems do not only affect the individual, but his whole family. He said Caritas insists that even the parents do a rehabilitation programme since it believes that it is not enough to only help the individual.

"Getting a person over the craving for drugs is not that difficult, and should take a few months. But to really help a person you need to get to the root of his problems and see what made him escape from his responsibilities, from society and from himself. Drugs are a trip into the unreal and you need to find out why this person is doing this.

"Drug addicts are psychologically and emotionally hurt and you need to address that to help them.

"I feel big compassion for them and do not judge them because many times they feel so much conditioned in their life that they turn to drugs," he concluded.