Eden Foundation marks 10th anniversary

The Training of staff at the Eden Foundation last year cost Lm17,835, Eden Foundation's Godwin Scerri said during a press breakfast marking the foundation's tenth anniversary, held at the Corinthia San Gorg on Wednesday.

Staff training costs between 1996 and 2000 were Lm6,826, Lm4,405, Lm5,527, Lm5,765 and Lm4,644 respectively.

The increase in costs was due to the training required to provide additional and updated services and to recruit new professionals, Mr Scerri told The Sunday Times.

The training provided at the Eden Foundation aims to introduce modern educational strategies to meet the needs of those with various conditions - cerebral palsy, autism, attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity, Down's syndrome, mental delay and communication and behavioural problems, among others.

In a bid to provide educational programmes for people with disability, the Eden Foundation's total expenditure between 1996 and 2001 amounted to Lm3,880,884. The outlay consisted of parent contributions (Lm472,248), State contributions (Lm1,463,249) and donations (Lm1,945,387).

These were used for a wide range of programmes to meet the needs of people of different ages with various conditions. The services offered include speech therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, art therapy and psychological services.

In the ten years since its setting up, the Eden Foundation has offered services to 473 full-time students in Malta and 44 in Gozo. The foundation has helped to find jobs for 113 students. Of these, 68 jobs have been retained.

"Some employers are more tolerant than others. Some believe that people with disability cannot be recruited. There have been times when recruits lost their job due to our lack of foresight. In fact, nine out of those who were employed had been misplaced," Mr Scerri said.

On the occasion of its tenth anniversary, to be celebrated in January, the foundation has set up a committee, chaired by President Emeritus Dr Censu Tabone.

"The committee aims to make the public, on which we depend, aware of how the Eden Foundation operates, why it needs funds, where the funds go and the state of the accounts. We rely on the good heart of the Maltese. The foundation has a massive financial burden," Mr Scerri said.

The committee is also composed of Chief Justice Emeritus Dr Joseph Said Pullicino, Mark Borg Costanzi, Joe Grioli, Eileen Montesin, John Bundy, Nadette Bugeja, Anna Bonanno, Marisa Micallef and Dr Josie Muscat.

The Eden Foundation was set up by Dr Josie Muscat and other trustees in 1992. Services for newborns, toddlers and children started being offered the following year. At the time, the foundation boasted three full-timers and two part-timers to provide services to 45 children. Services for adults were also introduced. These were intended to impart life, social and employability skills.

The following year, Dr Muscat advocated the introduction of inclusive education and that same year courses for facilitators started being held - inclusive education started being implemented in Malta. With the co-operation of Bishop Nikol Cauchi and the Gozo Curia a centre was also set up in Ghajnsielem.

Between 1996 and 2001 foreign experts were brought over to Malta to train staff and 40 members of staff were sent to study abroad.