St Joseph’s Home in Sta Venera may be an enormous building, with long corridors and massive hall-like rooms, but its director, Fr Frankie Cini, is on a mission to transform it into a warm and welcoming environment for the 15 boys who live there.

He is also out to eradicate the “frustrating” misconceptions about institutions, often associated with excessive punishment, military-like discipline, malnourishment and preferential treatment for priests – a detrimental image that stems from movies and, in the case of the home, is further aggravated by the sex abuse scandals that erupted in 2003.

Aware that it is impossible to shake off the shadow of the abuse cases that hang over the home, Fr Cini says it is not the first time he has received abusive calls, and is often asked whether the kids are beaten up.

“I brush it off by raising awareness... by trying to clarify in the media the split between what happened in the past and now.”

The physical environment is important to Fr Cini and he embraced the charitable intervention of Jugs & Friends, a leading team-building and event-organising company. It recently gathered 20 businesses to refurbish 10 of the boys’ bedrooms, adding a bright, fresh, breezy and individual touch to their living quarters, with feature walls, new furniture and paintings.

Over the years, Fr Cini has replaced the paint on the walls, associated with hospitals and old schools, with vibrant colours; the boys no longer need to cross corridors to go to the bathroom and these are less “institutionalised”.

It is hard for the building to escape the look of an institution but since 1993, efforts have been made to move as far away as possible towards a more domestic atmosphere.

“It will never be like a home, but we can get close,” Fr Cini believes. “It is about building small homes,” he says of the €13,000 project that has continued to distance from the dormitory concept, leaving a positive impact on the boys’ morale.

“They were running their hands along the furniture in awe and disbelief as though to feel it was really there,” he says of the reaction to their renovated rooms.

Even though the home also caters for medical needs – the boys may have aggressive tendencies and suicidal ideation – the aim is to offer a service without being excessively clinical.

“This is a home not a therapy unit,” he says as a boy turns up from a session with a Christmas cake he has just baked.

The alternatives for these kids are a mental hospital and fostering, the latter being the way forward for Fr Cini, even though it could never solve the situation entirely.

In fact, he feels the idea that Malta does not need homes is a dystopia because placements and even adoptions can fall through. The truth is that a spectrum of services is required and St Joseph’s is providing one of them, he says, wary of following countries that have closed their institutions down only to reopen them.

And since he believes St Joseph’s is here to stay, he is doing his utmost to turn it into a home for the 15 boys, aged 10 to 19, who are separated according to age.

The home can actually cater for 18, but the population has been kept low due to an upcoming major initiative – the Independent Living Project – by another team that is completely restructuring the flat for the older boys.

The plan is to use the huge premises to sustain itself and an area is being turned into a government childcare centre, Fr Cini says, determined to move away from “begging for charity” and target corporate sponsorship for capital projects.

The home also planned to sell its oranges to raise funds for L-Istrina: “The idea we promote is that however much you are a victim of circumstances, you are not the worst off. And it is amazing how acutely sensitive these children are to the needs of others because they know what it is like to feel pain.”

But Fr Cini, whose background is psychology, is also concerned about establishing “healthy borders” to safeguard not only the boys but also priests in his position.

“What happens if, in 10 years’ time, someone decides to accuse me of something?”

The scandal, in which a number of priests at the home have been accused of sexually abusing the children under their care, has meant “many hard moments for us”.

“The overreaction to these cases is the fear of staff to express simple gestures of affection. A hug and a kiss are taboo – and the problem is these are the children who need it most!

“There is always fallout and the price has to be paid by someone else,” Fr Cini says.

As a result of the scandal, the home has designed an Appropriate Touch Policy, and has clear guidelines to protect children and staff.

The boys and his quarters are strictly separated and permission is required for access. It would seem an exaggerated segregation but the rules are readily respected.

Fr Cini’s responsibility is “to be sure the issue does not affect the boys as much as possible”.

As he openly touches on the sensitive subject, he is busy organising a Christmas party for them, delegating tasks to his helpers and making sure there are enough bowls to warm the pastizzi for the big event.

Last Thursday, the day they celebrated Christmas before the boys went off to extended and foster families, and in some cases home, was an exception and the party was held in his common room – the first time the boys entered his quarters.

Among the gifts the home gave them was a set of about 40 photos, in the form of a calendar and depicting important moments in each child’s year.

Fr Cini believes that “children without memories will lose their way... They are constantly moving around, and often with nothing. These photos help them collect memories, which will help them in their journey of healing”.

Fr Cini did not return to his own family in Gozo until the evening of Christmas Day and just for a few hours.

“I don’t leave until the last child is settled and some only go for the day,” he says, unfazed by the fact that his own celebrations start when they are practically over.