Neatly folded turquoise pool towels pile up on the table in front of Lisa Borg, who has been working in a St Julian’s hotel’s laundry for 16 years.

There’s a lot they can do instead of being locked at home

Her blue eyes, accentuated with eyeliner, light up as she talks about how happy she is to work and be independent.

The 33-year-old, intellectually disabled woman is very aware that there are many people with disabilities who are looking for jobs and craving such independence.

They also have to deal with insensitive people and Ms Borg knows very well how this feels.

A few years ago she was tasked to train a summer worker at the hotel. “She used to tell me I had to do all the work. She was bossy. I was… upset,” Lisa says as she looks down towards the ground.

Lisa forms part of two disability committees – one within the National Commission Persons with Disability and the other within NGO Flimkien Naslu.

Her experience there has made her aware of the main obstacles faced by intellectually disabled people. These come in the form of employers refusing to give them a chance and parents who are scared to leave their children out of their sight.

“Sometimes they want to work, their families keep them home and, if they do work, they take the money because they don’t trust them.

“It’s very important to be able to be independent – let them go out and have their own lives and independence. It would be lovely to let them live their lives with your help.

“You’re not going to lose them,” she says, addressing her words at her friends’ protective parents.

Lisa’s mother Susan, 57, agrees that while it is not easy to let children go – especially if they have a disability – the rewards are immense.

She recounts how her daughter – the middle child – was born in the UK and needed an operation when she was six months old because she had problems with her stomach.

She lost a lot of blood, interrupting the amount of oxygen flowing to her brain. As a consequence, her daughter suffered global developmental delay.

“Lisa started learning how to do things, like sit and speak, later than other children her age,” Susan says.

“You have a problem with intellectual disabilities because there’s nothing to see. It’s a hidden disability.

“People tend to judge you based on what you look like. People are not so patient and understanding if they don’t see a disability.”

When Lisa was five, her family moved to Malta and she went to school until she was 16. The question was what to do next and the school said she could stay there until she turned 19.

But her mother did not like the idea. She wanted her daughter to move on like everyone else and went to the Employment and Training Corporation to find her a job.

With the help of ETC officer Charles Vella, Lisa managed to secure a position at the Westin Dragonara Hotel, which was just opening. She initially worked at the gym, as a receptionist, as well as the laundry but then had to drop the gym job.

“In the beginning it was a bit difficult and I didn’t know what to do. The people around me helped me,” Lisa says, adding that she works from 8am to 5pm five days a week.

“I like to work. It makes me feel good. I can go out. I get paid and I can have a Visa card. I can save money for the future and afford things like going abroad.

“I am happy because I’ve got friends. We go out. I’ve got two weddings coming up,” she grins, adding: “So, to employers I say… give someone a job so they can be like me – very happy.”

But Lisa’s life is not all about work. Apart from being a member of the two committees she also likes sports and took part in the Paralympics when she was a teenager.

She also has a passion for crafts – something that is pointed out on the badge she wears on her uniform. She makes cards and also knows how to do glass painting and silk painting.

“I like crafts because they are creative and relaxing at the same time,” she says. Her mother adds: “See – there’s a lot they can do instead of being locked at home. She leads a very full life.”

Lisa is contemplating a possible business venture with her mother.

She likes baking but, since she is dyslexic, Susan has to read the recipes.

Her dream is to open a cake shop that also caters for gluten-free diets so that people like her mother can enjoy tasty treats.

Then she has another dream for the future – that people stop using horrible words such as ‘handicapped’ and ‘retarded’.

Sometimes people speak about her, and use such words, in her presence. She finds this very upsetting and usually tells them to mind their language.

“I don’t like it. I don’t like that word – ‘handicapped’. It’s better if you say disability,” she says.

Her mother smiles and tells her: “But you have to tell them not to, Lis.”

Intellectual disabilities

Imagine being constantly treated like a child and not trusted. Frustrating thought, right? This is one of the biggest issues faced by people who have intellectual disabilities, according to KNPD executive director Anne-Marie Callus.

People with intellectual disabilities are often not seen as being capable of taking decisions affecting their own lives, whether big or small. They have to seek permission from their parents to go out and meet friends even if they are in their 20s or older. They are not seen as being capable of having sexual relations, she said.

There is also a lack of accessible information for the intellectually disabled. “There is a shortage of easy-to-read websites, official documentation, and newspapers. Many people would probably not see the need for this as they would not imagine that people with intellectual disability can understand information even in an easy-to-read version,” she said.

Then there is a lack of opportunities for employment – a problem for all forms of disability that is, however, accentuated for the intellectually disabled. Likewise, there is a lack of opportunities for them to socialise and for independent living.

The Sunday Times of Malta is telling the stories of people with disabilities who are overcoming societal barriers. These monthly articles are not aimed at depicting these people as ‘super heroes’, but at helping society out there understand the needs and concerns of the 34,600 disabled people in Malta who are often hindered by lack of accessibility and understanding. Anyone who has a story to share can contact ccalleja@timesofmalta.com.