A beacon of light for city dwellers (2)

In the first part of this article yesterday, we have seen how and why the Valletta Community Network (VCN) was set up by the Valletta local council. In this part, we will take a look at what is being done.

In just six months of its existence, the VCN, through the community worker assigned to it, met with most of the organisations working or have some form of interest in Valletta and obtained their feedback. From this, it emerged that:

• Local children are having problems with their homework and some of them live in families with social problems.

• Although Valletta is the home of a large number of organisations (social, religious, political, etc) some youth do not feel they fit in any.

• Adults mentioned the problems of substance abuse, gambling, illiteracy and unemployment.

• The elderly felt vulnerable and lonely especially if they have mobility problems. They also mentioned the abuse which some of them face on a regular basis, among which the plague of usury.

On hearing this, we decided to pull our sleeves up and start working. So far we have managed to:

• Start an after school homework club for St Elmo's Primary School and St Albert the Great College, focusing on the core subjects and extra curricular activities. This would not have been possible without the collaboration of two organisations on the VCN - the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) and the Third World Group.

This is not the first project of this sort in Valletta. Three years ago, the council took part in the HILTI programme whose aim was to enhance both the school-community development and increase parental empowerment.

• Help set up two initiatives aimed at the elderly; the first being the Day Centre and the second is the Good Neighbours Scheme.

• The Day Centre has been on the wish list of Valletta residents for ages. There were basically three problems that made it hard to materialise. First of all, whoever is familiar with Valletta knows that the city is divided into a number of different areas. Thus, finding a place in the right location that can cater for all the areas is pretty hard. Secondly, Valletta is built on top of a hill; this means that finding a building on a spot that is easily accessible by everyone is quite a feat. Third, one needs the finances to run such an project.

Rather than going with the traditional model of having a fixed Day Centre, we decided to adopt an innovative approach. During our discussions, we found out that each and every parish has a place where people can meet. Thus, we will help set up a rotating centre that will be in different parishes on different days of the week. By using this approach, we would have solved the problem of identifying the right location.

The rotation will start gradually, the first Day Centre we are working to open is the one in St Augustine's parish and, hopefully, the others will open a few months later. The centre will be manned entirely by volunteers, some from the parish and others from outside.

The other members of the VCN are giving a hand too. The ETC is looking for people who can volunteer to assist in this centre and the Department for the Elderly will take care of some of the information sessions that will be held in it. If everything goes according to plan, we hope to open this centre in the coming months.

• The Good Neighbours Scheme is a rather simple idea. The biggest problem the elderly face is loneliness. A good number of them have no one to lean on when they need help, thus making them more vulnerable to abuse. Because of this, the VCN, together with the three parishes, is working in tandem to set up a network of elderly people. Their task is simply to check on each other, ensure that everything is fine and if there's a problem refer it to the parishes or the VCN so that action is taken.

Obviously, this is just the tip of the iceberg and underneath the surface there are a number of other activities going on whose aim is to lay down the groundwork for other ambitious projects. Among these are:

• Discussions with the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) aimed at ensuring better bus routes around the city especially for the elderly.

• Discussions with the National Commission Persons with Disability (KNPD) and the Valletta and Floriana Rehabilitation Committee aimed at making Valletta more accessible.

• Discussions with the ETC aimed at holding joint activities targeting job seekers and employers in Valletta.

• Discussions with the police with the hope of setting up a neighbourhood watch.

• Discussions with St James Cavalier with the hope of organising cultural sessions including music, story telling, dance, etc for children; cultural management training covering carnival floatmaking, stage lighting, etc for jobseekers.

• Discussions with various ministries.

• Drafting of applications for various EU projects.

All this would not have been possible without the community worker, the members of the VCN and the volunteers who support each of the organisations in the network. The effect of our work is very contagious. Other local councils liked the idea and are in the process of implementing something similar.

If you were to ask me whether this is enough, my answer would be definitely no. But it's a start, and a start in the right direction. And if you've read this article and your mind is bubbling with ideas, why keep them to yourself, let us know how you can give us a hand.

I can be contacted at alexieid@maltanet.net or on 79424536.

(Concluded)

Dr Dingli is a Valletta local councillor representing the Nationalist Party. His remit includes youth, employment and social problems.