A group of 42 Ekoskola students and youths from seven schools and Youth, Inc. from Aġenzija Zgħazagħ joined forces to conduct an environmental audit at St Vincent de Paul residence. They were accompanied by their teachers and the Ekoskola coordination team.
The residence is a high-dependency nursing home with a population of over 1,200 residents.
The students toured several wards and audited various areas of the residence, including Madre Teresa 1, Padre Pio 2, Rużar Briffa 3, the Physiotherapy Department, the Medical Materials Management Unit, Records Offices, garden and green areas, the parking areas and other facilities. The students also interviewed staff and residents.
The building is presently undergoing major structural changes to upgrade the facilities.
The students’ recommendations were ‘appropriate and very feasible- SVPR CEO
Residence CEO Josianne Cutajar said: “As management we are looking forward to implement many of the suggestions provided by the Ekoskola students”.
She added that the students’ recommendations were “extremely appropriate and very feasible to implement”.
Deputy clinical chairperson of the Geriatrics Department Brian Farrugia, who helped coordinate the event, said he was impressed by the students’ input.
“I believe we should care for our future today. We must encourage our children to be assertive, innovative and creative,” he added.
The students’ recommendations will be pooled and tabled into an action plan that will be presented to Parliamentary Secretary for the Rights of Persons with Disability and Active Ageing Justyne Caruana, on April 29 to mark the EU Day of Solidarity between Generations.
The students and youths came from St Benedict College’s Qrendi and Safi primary, St Ignatius College’s Żebbuġ primary and Ħandaq secondary, St Clare College’s San Ġwann primary B, St Joseph Mater Boni Consillii school, Paola and St Dorothy’s senior school, Żebbuġ.