Voluntary work among the disabled

On May 17, Denis Azzopardi was honoured by Dar tal-Providenza for his work in the disability sector. He was given the Mons. Mikiel Azzopardi award. Because of his medical condition, Denis could not be present with us.

In fact, he had joined the Almighty Father, there to rejoice with Him and to enjoy the fruits of the good works he had carried out during his lifetime.

On my own behalf, on behalf of my husband Kevin, on behalf of all disabled persons (especially those who are or were once part of the Muscular Dystrophy Group) and other persons close to him, I wish to share my thoughts about who was Denis Azzopardi.

Denis was like a surrogate father sent to us by God. He was so gentle, honest, calm, loyal, a real friend with a heart full of love for all who were in need.

I've been a member of the Muscular Dystrophy Group for the last 25 years and Denis was the first person from the group I ever met. I was just an 11-year-old girl; until then I had not accepted my condition but Denis, with his charisma and love, helped me and even persuaded me to join and be part of the group. He introduced me to the other members and from then on I started to attend the activities of the group regularly.

It is thanks to Denis that I understood what it means to carry out voluntary work and how important it was (and is still) for me and other families who are members of our group. Fortunately, the Muscular Dystrophy Group always believed in the potential of the disabled persons and never treated us with pity. In fact, the group, through Denis, always believed in our potential as human beings and leaders, so much so that we were involved in all matters, including decision-making.

In fact, also thanks to Denis, nowadays the majority of persons carrying out voluntary work within our group are the disabled persons ourselves.

Dear Denis, we thank you for all you did to improve our quality of life and to improve society in general. Surely, we will always remember you as the man with the sincere smile, always ready to be of support, even during difficult moments, ours and your own.

Denis, thanks for sharing your life with us and for making us part of your life ...