Fr Victor Grech has an early start to the day.

The 92-year-old priest drives himself to Tal-Ibraġ early in the morning, where he celebrates the 7.30am Mass and meets people for counselling.

Upon returning home, where he still lives by himself, he prepares lunch, washes a few clothes and does the dishes.

He checks his Facebook feed, replies to Whatsapp messages, and sits down for a chat.

“I’m in touch with the world. I love technology and I know what’s going on everywhere,” he says with a smile.

“I do feel that my body has become stiffer. My legs aren’t as strong as they used to be, true, but I still feel young at heart.

“I still do everything I used to do. I do it slower, sure, but I do it all.”

Fr Grech headed Caritas Malta for 37 years, and even though he is retired, he still holds counselling meetings and visits drug rehabilitation residents regularly.

“I love it. My mind is still agile, so it still allows me to do it. When I’m with them I feel like them and it brings me great joy,” he says.

“That is one of the things I pray that God doesn’t take away from me.”

Fr Grech began looking for solutions to some of Malta’s most pressing problems 44 years ago, when then Archbishop Joseph Mercieca asked him to head Caritas Malta.

“I had just completed 20 years as rector of the seminary, and I had hosted a weekly radio programme for 21 years, since 1956.

“People used to call in during the programmes and pour their hearts out, so I started to gain a very good sense of the problems out there. One of the most increasingly unbridled issues was drug use among young adults.”

Fr Grech says the problem was spreading rapidly in places like Sliema, Gżira and the three cities. The business was subtle and shrouded in great secrecy, but traffickers knew their way around very well.

So, he began speaking publicly against drug abuse and trafficking, and he was the only voice to campaign publicly for quite some time.

But it wasn’t long before he started receiving death threats from drug pushers.

“I would receive letters upon letters from anonymous people, warning me to stop speaking about drug effects on young people. Some were extremely personal. It was clear they knew me well,” he recalls.

“I remember some letters clearly said that if I don’t stop speaking at once, they would kill me.”

He says the threats were coming from pushers who had the means and the determination to follow through with the threats. That is when the police offered him personal security.

“I remember the police commissioner had warned me back then. He said I should take the threats seriously and asked me to accept to have a police officer with me.”

“I refused. I was scared, don’t get me wrong, but I felt it wasn’t right to have a policeman following me everywhere I go. And I decided to keep speaking up.”

Fr Grech says drugs today are more easily accessible and more easily trafficked.

“There are more drugs today than there were in the 70s, but consumption fluctuates according to supply.

“Moreover, today we’re noticing there is greater demand from younger people as well. We’re seeing children as young as 11 and 12 starting to take  hard drugs. That wasn’t the case in the 70s. In fact, we just opened a new centre at Tal-Ibwar, to cater specifically for young users.”

Some people insist that responsible cannabis use for recreational purposes is in fact helpful, and others argue that they consume harder drugs occasionally, such as during the weekends, and they feel perfectly fine.

Asked about this, Fr Grech replies: “Not everybody becomes an addict, true, but people who do become addicted start from very small amounts.

“Alcoholics don’t become alcoholics by downing an entire bottle of whisky on day one. They all start with that one drink to relax, or on the weekend.

“So no, it doesn’t affect everybody the same way, but I wouldn’t risk it. It also depends on the quality of the drug you’re consuming, how your body handles it and depending on what’s going on in your life right now. It depends how much you’re able to control it, but the risk is real.”

Sometimes, young people come out of Caritas drug rehabilitation programmes, only to relapse again shortly afterwards. Fr Grech says those who relapse generally come back stronger.

“I’m not concerned about people who relapse. Most of them come back even more convinced and unwavering the second time, and they generally change their lives forever and move on to raise families and become role models,” he says.

“A good number of them even work with us at Caritas, and they’re great, because they know the business, they’re streetwise, they understand the ‘lingo’, and residents relate to them like they relate to nobody else.

“We don’t care how many times you fail, but how many times you’re willing to stand up again. And whenever you’re willing, you’ll find us there.

“We don’t treat drugs. We treat persons. We work on their physical, emotional, psychological and sexual health. We help them rehabilitate their lives, and that rids them of the desire to take drugs.”

Since its inception, Caritas has offered therapy to around 2,000 people with drug dependencies, but the Church organisation also caters for people who live below the poverty line and for people with other addictions, such as gambling and alcoholism.

But the beginning was not rosy.

“Back in 1977 Caritas had nothing. No office, no money, no staff and no plan,” he says.

“I issued a call for volunteers and 300 people applied. I chose 20 of them and started building and gaining ground. It helped that I hosted radio programmes, because I used to listen to what the people needed, and that’s how I devised my first plans for Caritas.”

Fr Grech went on to host radio programmes for 50 years.

“I loved these young people before they were even born.

“When I opened the first drug rehabilitation centre in Floriana, in 1985, I wasn’t just doing it for the young people who were going to use our services back then. In my heart I could already feel all the young people who had to come after them, some of whom weren’t even born back then.”

When he turned 90, the staff at Caritas surprised Fr Grech by scheduling a private meeting and a Mass with Pope Francis.

“It was amazing. Speaking with him felt like we knew each other for a long time.

“I felt loved and accepted in his presence,” he recalls.

“The pope has a sweet and sincere look on his face, and he’s very different to what you see on television. Meeting him and celebrating Mass with him impacted my life greatly.”

But one of Fr Grech’s most memorable experiences happened well outside the walls of Vatican City.

He happens to be the brother of Joe Grech, the first singer to represent Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest where he sang  ‘Marija l-Maltija’ in 1971.

Fr Grech recalls flying with him to Dublin for the contest.

“I remember the rehearsals, the reporters, the sound, lighting, the atmosphere, the people from all around the world, and of course, the music. I loved it.

“Just before we went to the arena for the live performance, I remember we celebrated Mass in my hotel room.”

Caritas Malta is holding a live telethon today, to raise funds that will help the organisation with it’s work. The telethon will air on all television stations between noon and midnight.

“People should know that all the money they give to Caritas comes back to them in the form of services, therapy, attention and love, so it’s worth donating,” says Fr Grech.