The weekly routine of centenarian Salvina Formosa includes a good dose of exercise, including weightlifting. Photo: Western Sydney Local Health District

At the grand age of 101, Gozo-born Salvina Formosa still does her own cooking and shopping... She even lifts weights and exercises every week.

The Sydney resident is the oldest person enrolled in a community-based programme designed for elderly people who have suffered a fall or are scared of falling.

Ms Formosa turned to the State-funded Stepping On programme when she tripped on an uneven footpath – and, notwithstanding her venerable age, she can do 20 sit-to-stand exercises.

A spokeswoman for the Western Sydney Local Health District said there was no sign of Ms Formosa slowing down.

The grandmother of two, who is a trained sewing teacher and has made at least 13 wedding dresses, wakes up at 5am every day.

Before she left for Australia when she was 37, she taught dressmaking in Malta and, 64 years on, she still sews.

My message to everyone is to have a kind and loving heart, don’t hold on to jealousy and keep laughing

“I finished school at 20 and went to dressmaking school to become a sewing teacher,” she told Times of Malta. “I cook, wash and I’m quite independent.

“I go out three times a week with my carer, who takes me shopping and to church,” said Ms Formosa. She still plays bingo, eats pizza and prays every day.

Asked for her secret to a long and happy life, the centenarian said it was important to keep the mind and body active.

Attending Stepping On is something she looks forward to because she enjoys socialising and joining walking activities.

The programme’s coordinator, Shayda Marek, believes that having Ms Formosa on board has encouraged other elderly people to join Stepping On.

“Having a person like Salvina in the Stepping On programme has certainly endorsed its benefits and encouraged people in their 80s and 90s to register, too.

“I have received a number of calls for registration, as the programme has given others the confidence that they can do it and gain benefits by improving their balance and strength.”

So far, nearly 1,000 Western Sydney residents have signed up for the programme, which runs for seven weeks.

Nearly three-quarters of the participants have found their balance and strength improved, and 83 per cent even report changes in their behaviour.

No matter what people do, however, Ms Formosa believes everyone should keep their spirits up: “My message to everyone is to have a kind and loving heart, don’t hold on to jealousy and keep laughing.”