“As a government we must remain sensitive to the needs of the people while recognizing that everyone deserves a second chance.” Prime Minister Robert Abela claimed this in an address he made before inaugurating the Caritas Community Center in Blata l’Bajda.
The Prime Minister Robert Abela explained that this center was made with a social commitment from many including the government, which allocated more than €2 million from European funds and €1 million given to Caritas Malta from the Social Development Fund National, the fund that manages in the best interest of the people the funds from the residence with investment program. This is apart from the fact that the prime minister said that with an agreement with Caritas, next year the government is dedicating around €2.8 million for Caritas to continue with its services in the Ibwar Centre, in the New Center Hope in San Blas and in Dar Charles Miceli.
“Beyond the stones and the building itself, this community center is a house of service for the people in a beautiful environment”, stressed the prime minister about the new Caritas center that offers various services including that of outpatient for people with drug rehabilitation and support for those with mental health challenges and problems of use. Before leaving the building, the prime minister also spoke from his experience of working within Caritas and defined this organization as a wealth of opportunities that works in silence, with love and without looking at faces.
Dr. Abela thanked the workers and the professionals of Caritas, who in this center even work with relatives of people who are trying to overcome an addiction and explained that the workers provide a service with dignity no matter what.
The prime minister claimed that the financial support given by the government to turn an abandoned building into a center for community services testifies to the social commitment that the government has and that continues to be shown with the Budget presented for the year d – next where there are many measures that address the challenges of different people. Among the measures he mentioned was the additional compensation that the government will give to vulnerable families affected by the cost of living, the aid of €10,000 over ten years to first-time buyers and the increases to pensioners and in the children’s allowance. The prime minister noted Caritas’ public statements and said that these are important to continue to reach a common goal, that no one falls behind in our society.
“This center is truly a testimony of a country where the value of the social soul is still strong”, pointed out the Prime Minister Robert Abela and he supports the support that the government must continue to give to the sector of -volunteering in our country, another important aspect in the work of Caritas. Dr. Abela ended by wishing Caritas and the Church in Malta for this project of redemption and stressed that our country must continue to support and help those who can afford it the least while he encouraged those who are receiving help from Caritas.
