The Pioneers

Today the local scene with regards to elderly people’s homes away from home boasts of several edifices and institutions which almost vie between themselves for offering caring services as well as a place where to pass the day and night for the elderly who because of various circumstances have found themselves alone and incapable to live anymore in their own home. This sprout of such homes springing up all around Malta augurs well for the care that the elderly need as they grow up in age. And the venue is quite a varied one because besides the normal edifice organized as a caring home there are others that are going after high quality boasting five star hotel standard while others are building complexes of luxurious apartments for those that can afford it.

This set-up of course is only a thing of the recent present and is quite a far cry from what was the set-up in the recent past and more so in the so far past. If we delve into the annals of history and going quite a long time back we find that there was no such places where the elderly could find help and solace in their old age. Most had to fend for themselves or if they were lucky would find help through family, relatives and neighbours. Then in Malta appeared the first kind of caring institution an Ospizio founded by the Knights of St John in lower Valletta. This edifice acted as a hospital and a place where the elderly were gathered mainly in beds even two or three in a bed until their time came to meet the Lord.

Quite a long time had to pass until a new development took place which was to set up the basis of a new trend in the care of the elderly that of organized Caring Homes. The first Institution to jump into the fray was a Religious Congregation of nuns from France. Under the name of The Little Sisters of the Poor this Congregation founded in Brittany France by Jean Jugan in 1839 explicitly with the aim of aiding the elderly as they came of age. With exceptional enthusiasm and vision Jean Jugan gave herself to serve the elderly in their dire needs. Telling her mum that “God wants me for Himself, for work that has not yet been set up”, Jeanne left her home in 1817 to go and work ina hospital at Saint Servan. One day Jeanne took in her home an elderly woman who was blind and abandoned and this episode was to set off Jeanne on a new mission which event led to the actual founding of “The Little Sisters of the Poor”.

Her devotion to this mission, and preaching that the poor are Christ himself, and that we should always see that the elderly should be always happy, captured the attention of other girls and ladies and soon this saintly and energetic woman was surrounded by others who shared her fervour and her zeal. Thus this Congregation came into being the first and a pioneer in this sphere of caring for the elderly. The Congregation continued to grow throughout the years and today it is established in 31 countries on five continents.

Here it is apt to point out that Malta was one of the very first countries to benefit from their sojourn here seeing that they arrived in Malta on 18th February 1878.

In those early times the pioneer sisters of the Congregation who came to Malta settled themselves at a modest home in Pieta but the response to their endeavours to help the elderly was quite a big one and they had to look for bigger premises. They were lucky to acquire a larger premises in Hamrun at Villa Blacas, just off St Joseph High Road and aside to the main St Paul’s Square, a very central position. By time they acquired some of the surrounding land and managed to build a premises which was to serve them for more than a hundred years. Time and needs called for a re-development of the complex and in the year 2000 the Congregation launched into a project of reconstruction which took six years to complete. The new refurbished complex now consists of 59 single rooms which are self-contained with an ensuite walk-in shower, toilet and wash-hand basin and with all beds equipped with a nurse call system. There are also ten independent flatlettes. The actual convent for the nuns is also situated within the complex which was finally officially inaugurated on the 25th October 2006.

The Home is today run by the Sisters in the community and have to aid them a staff of 43 full time members who cater for the Reception, Nursing, Kitchen, laundry, Maintenance, Housekeeping, Care Assistance and Activities. The Sisters themselves are on call 24 hours. Then there are day nurses and carers who work during the day and a night staff who care with attentiveness for all the residents. The Sisters are also always on call. Doctors visit the Home regularly and will be called when needed, whilst all medical treatment is prepared and distributed by the Medical team of the Home. With regards to meals diets will be prepared if prescribed by a Doctor. The Home also provides social activities and residents are encouraged to participate in these activities which consist of handcrafts, conferences, computer lessons, physical fitness, outings, entertainments and social events. There is also an organised time for quiet moments and relaxation. Run as it is by a Community of Sisters, worship is given its due importance whilst each resident is assured freedom of worship. A Chaplain serves the Home daily and besides saying Holy Mass he is also available for personal encounters.

Admission to the Home is made through an application to Mother Superior who together with her Counsel will decide the acceptation of the admission. In the admission criteria, the Little Sisters of the Poor, follow in the spirit of Saint Jean Jugan, their Mother Foundress and give preference to the elderly with modest income.