Eighty-two-year-old Angie, who has dementia, would like to have a doll and a small blanket for it this Christmas.
As she sits in the elderly home for people with dementia, on Christmas Day, her new doll will help transport her back to those cherished childhood days.
Angie is one of the 311 Gozitan elderly people whose Christmas wishes are published through the Naħseb Fik (Thinking of You) project, which lists the wishes of elderly people who are lonely and face various social difficulties or health issues.
The elderly people reside in retirement homes or attend day centres in Gozo. Names and details used on the website are fictitious, including Angie’s.
The majority of the elderly people want pyjamas, bed slippers and cardigans, clothing items that will keep them warm in winter when they rarely venture outdoors, organiser Lina Pecorella noted.
A group of elderly people who attended a day centre all wished for a poncho that would keep them comfortable as they went on outings together. Some, who used wheelchairs, needed a special poncho that covered the wheelchair too, she said.
Few were the elderly whose wish went beyond clothes. Some are requesting Radio CD players and headphones, one man asked for memory games and another requested a book of old-time stories.
“Elderly people are often forgotten. In some cases, their relatives don’t visit them. This project is not so much about giving them a gift. It’s about them knowing that someone is thinking about them,” Ms Pecorella, a 46-year-old mother of two, said.
“This is just a small gesture to help these people age with dignity,” she said, adding that she would love to extend the project to Malta and have it running all year round.
The project is an independent initiative she launched in 2014 and runs in cooperation with the Gozo Ministry, in collaboration with a group of social workers.
Anyone who would like to fulfill a wish can visit the website nahsebfik.com, where they can select a wish and fill in contact details.
Information will be provided to the responsible social worker who would then get in touch by email or telephone. Confidentiality will be respected to protect all concerned.
Once purchased, gifts can be dropped off at the Gozo Ministry or at the Valletta, Mosta, Paola, or St Paul’s Bay local councils from where they will be delivered to Gozo.
For more information one can visit nahsebfik.com, phone 99878428 or email info@nahsebfik.com.