I am an Irishman who retired in Malta five years ago after many years in international education abroad. I live in Marsascala.

A friend of mine recently accused me of being the eternal pessimist. In so many ways, he may be right.

As a retired professional, I don’t find there is much to be optimistic about when I look around the world today. I often ponder what a mess we have left to the next generation. However, in recent months the people of Malta have restored in me a real sense of optimism. This new- found faith is the result of two incidents which occurred in the last three months.

The first took place at the market in Marsaxlokk.

My niece was visiting from Boston, US, and as part of our Malta tour, I took her to the market. She loved the colour, diversity of stalls and amazing variety of food/goods on display. She also commented upon the unique spirit of the sellers.

She paused at a stall to buy some Malta honey. Unknowingly, she accidentally dropped her credit card. Hundreds of people were bustling through those stalls that morning. We had walked onward for about 15 minutes before she realised her card was missing.

She initially panicked and feared the worst. I tried to calm her down and reassure her that Malta was very different from other countries where the likelihood of recovering such items would be nil. We returned to all the stalls visited until eventually we got back to the honey stall.

There, a smiling Maltese lady held up her credit card and told her she had dropped it. My niece was overwhelmed when the lady said: “Hey, don’t worry, this is Malta. If the card was worth one cent or a million euro, we would return it to you.”

In recent months, the people of Malta have restored in me a real sense of optimism

Two days later my niece left Malta after seeing many beautiful places, but I know her strongest memory will be the honesty of the Marsaxlokk lady. I am sure she has told relatives and friends back in the States. Holidays are not just about sight-seeing. In this cynical world, the people of Malta have done something far more important. They have renewed my niece’s faith in the natural goodness of people.

The second incident occurred as I was helping a friend collect his daughter and school friends at the Malta airport.

They were visiting from the UK. We collected them and their suitcases at the airport and drove them to his home in Kalkara. When we reached his street, we noticed that the road had been blocked off by a building crane thus cutting off access.

We parked our cars some distance from the house and carried the suitcases in the early afternoon heat.

In the process, my wallet, containing all my credit cards, ID card, driving licence, etc, disappeared. I realised an hour later and immediately rang my bank to cancel the cards.

The HSBC lady who answered my call was amazing.

She calmly cancelled my cards within a matter of minutes and reassured me about replacements. However, it was her humanity which impressed me most. She took the time to say how sorry she was, hoped the wallet would turn up and reassured me that I had done everything I could. I then went to the airport to ask if they had found anything. The airport staff were courteous and helpful and advised me to speak to airport police. At the station, a young police officer named Chris was very helpful and drafted a police report which his colleagues duly followed up the next day.

After a sleepless night, my mobile rang at 7am.

To my relief, a kind, cheerful young woman from Kalkara informed me that her mother had found my wallet in the street.

I was so relieved and went to meet her that afternoon. While the money had been taken, all my cards were still inside.

A kind and honest lady, Margaret Grech, had found the wallet lying open in the street.

Her daughter returned the wallet to me at the church of Kalkara and I’m sure she saw the relief upon my face.

These good people are such an example to the community for their wonderful honesty.

These two incidents demonstrate for me the truly special nature of Maltese people. Their honesty is heart-warming and truly unique for which this country should proud.

To all these wonderful people, I can only say a sincere thank you. You make the world a better place.

Eamonn Hogan is a retired educational director of international schools in the Middle East.