An indescribable happiness overcame Adrian Mercieca when he placed his newborn daughter into the arms of his sister Grace who had barely ever smiled since she was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

"How can I explain the joy I felt when I placed by first newborn on Grace's laps at Villa Chelsea (a half-way house for people with mental health problems). Grace was so happy she could fly. I never thought I'd ever see her smile again," Mr Mercieca said as he broke into tears to the memory of his late sister.

He recounted how, when their mother died, his sister had given up her childhood to look after him and their three other brothers, who all suffer from schizophrenia except him (the youngest of the five).

"Although they are ill I still detect those characteristics that make them the brothers and sister I knew as children.... Schizophrenia is a terrible illness. I saw normal, capable people crumble before my eyes. And, apart from suffering the consequences of the illness, they were pushed aside by society," he said.

Mr Mercieca bravely shared his family story during a seminar entitled Unreal Realities: Understanding Schizophrenia organised by the Richmond Foundation to mark World Schizophrenia Day last Sunday.

In a moving address, he explained that when he was four years old his mother died and, with her, so did the "family feeling" he had known. His father struggled to look after five children so his sister left school and gave up a scholarship.

"The years rolled on and, although I was young, I sensed the burden. We had no direction and no happiness in our lives... We never went anywhere as a family... But these years were like the lull before the storm."

Then his brother, David, started acting strange. He would talk about experiences that terrified him but they would have only taken place in his mind.

One day, while the family was having dinner, David broke down: His body went stiff and he collapsed. Their father, a nurse, took him into another room to treat him while Mr Mercieca and his sister and brothers remained shocked by the sight. It eventually turned out that David had schizophrenia.

Daniel, the eldest brother, was the next to be diagnosed. He had failed his postman qualification exams and became a cleaner in a factory where he was bullied. This, coupled with the situation at home, led to his breakdown.

This was a huge blow for all the family. They were living in poverty and society scorned them as though they were to blame for what was happening, Mr Mercieca said.

"We felt like all hope was lost. We felt exiled from society and labelled because we were poor," he said.

The situation got even worse when their father died. "Now we were completely alone. I was 17 at the time. Grace got depressed as now we had to live off charity and on social benefits. It was bad that we lived in poverty but what was worse was that we were alone," he said.

As his sister caved in under the overwhelming responsibility she was faced with, their other brother, Stephen, tried to take on some of the burden. Eventually both were diagnosed with schizophrenia.

"I'm no doctor but I feel that Daniel and David got sick because they had a predisposition to the illness while Grace and Stephen were afflicted because of the circumstances," Mr Mercieca said.

After years of desperation, the family saw a ray of hope when social workers knocked at their door and offered psychological help. "It was not easy for them to get through to us as we had built walls around us," he said as he thanked them for their perseverance.

Despite his troubled childhood, Mr Mercieca clung onto his dreams for a better life. "I wanted to turn my luck around and find a job and build a family. But who would accept me as I was with my family baggage," he said, adding: "But I was lucky to meet Teresita, a courageous woman who is now my wife". They have two children. He called on more investment in the field of mental health to help people like his brothers who were living in homes and hostels run by the Richmond Foundation. "If I had to turn back the clock, I would choose them. I'm proud to be the brother of Grace, Stephen, David and Daniel," he said as the crowd exploded into a heartfelt applause.

Factbox: Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that interferes with a person's ability to recognise what is real, manage their emotions, think clearly, make judgments and communicate. The illness affects one in every 100 people and, contrary to public perception, has nothing to do with multiple personalities.

The condition usually develops gradually during adult life and often worsens during stressful situations. Hallucinations are frequently experienced as voices that comment on behaviour or thoughts.

Psychiatrist Anton Grech explains that research shows that, when people with schizophrenia believe they are hearing voices, their brains actually show signals of that activity.

The exact cause of schizophrenia is not known but may depend on genetics or environmental factors.

Most patients who receive treatment make a substantial recovery.