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Disability and Learning Difficulties (for Carers)

Klabb NannaKola (Grandparents)

Fuljett ġdid ghall-qraba: KIF IGGIB RUHEK MAL–MARD MENTALI - 14-IL PRINCIPJU GHALL-QRABA

New brochure for relatives and carers COPING WITH MENTAL ILLNESS - 14 Principles For The Relatives

Klabb NannaKola (Grandparents)

- a participatory learning experience among grandparents in charge of young children (More...)

- Klabb NannaKola – klabb edukattiv ghan-nanniet li jiehdu hsieb in-neputijiet. Matul il-laqghat jipprattikaw flimkien attivitajiet prattici li jferrhu lit-tfal waqt li fl-istess hin huma edukattivi u jheggu l-hajra u l-hila ghat-taghlim. L-ewwel Klabb qed jitwettaq flimkien mal-Kummissjoni Fidi u Gustizzja ta' l-Agostinjani f'Hal Tarxien. Se jitwettaq f'lokalitajiet ohra wkoll. (Aktar...)

Grandparent Education

Grandparents in Malta are shouldering a challenging caring responsibility often linked to their adult children's marriage breakup or career. For many grandparents, this role is both a source of joy and one that gives rise to resentments at being regularly imposed upon, taken for granted and criticised when child upbringing styles clash.

Grandparent education continued to be a focus of support during 2010 characterised by NannaKola Clubs – educational and fun courses organised at parish level following outreach work to identify grandparents in distress. The Club combines the elements of a support group with structured and unstructured discussions and demonstrations of learning strategies for home trials. The content and process of a NannaKola Club empowers grandparents to reflect critically about their role and how it differs from that of a parent. During club sessions, grandparents hone inter-generational communication skills, practice creating educational resources for use at home with their grandchildren, learn how to handle stress and care for themselves, and become a source of fellowship and support to one another. Those requiring counselling are also offered this service. Detailed session plans and related resources have been developed by the team.

During 2010, 6 Nannakola Clubs were running in the parishes of B'Kara, Ħaż-Żabbar, Marsascala (twice), Paola and Fleur-de-Lys in partnership with parish priests and their Diaconia Commissions. In all, 102 grandparents actively participated in the 6 clubs in 2010. Each club runs for 13-14 sessions of two and a half hours each.

• The aims of the NannaKola Clubs are to:
• 1. enable grandparents to learn strategies of how to stimulate their grandchildren to love reading through creative play and fun activities;
• 2. support each other to further develop and hone the skill of caring for one's grandchildren;
• 3. encourage other grandparents in the community to join the club and the monthly educational grandparents' forum;
• 4. become familiar with some of the reading and writing methods used in schools today;
• 5. practice using materials found at home to create educational resources for use at home such as hand puppets and story bags;
• 6. take an active part in the monthly educational dialogue sessions with experts in particular fields in order to continue their lifelong learning journey.

NannaKola Clubs that ran in 2010 by locality and number of participants:

Grandparents' Monthly Forum : These monthly dialogue meetings with experts in various fields of interest to grandparents were started in April 2009 following a suggestion from grandparents who wished to continue their learning journey. These monthly meetings were continued during 2010. This opportunity enables grandparents who care for their grandchildren to sustain their care-giving role. The following were the themes covered during 2010:

Support Group for Parents of Separated Couples On July 9 th 2011 a support group was started for parents whose married children have separated. In Malta , this is an innovation. Often, it does not occur to parents to seek much needed emotional and psychological support when their son's or daughter's marriage breaks up. For them too, this is a traumatic experience for which they are unprepared. The support group experience enables them to determine what language to use with grandchildren when they talk of their parents' separation, what channels of communication could be maintained with the daughter-in-law or son-in-law, how to communicate with their son/ daughter, and how to deal with the fact that one's son or daughter is suddenly back home as an adult whose marriage has broken up. This opportunity too is being organised in close collaboration with the Justice and Peace Commission of the Augustinian order in Tarxien. Individual and group-based support are both offered. Held every Wednesday between 10.00 and 11.30 am.

Fid-9 ta' Lulju 2011 nbeda grupp t'appogg ghal genituri li ghaddejjin minn zmien ta' dieqa kbira minhabba li z-zwieg ta' binthom jew binhom tfarrak. Dan hu tip ta' servizz gdid ghal Malta . Hafna drabi, dawn il-genituri lanqas biss tidhlilhom f'rashom li jfittxu ghajnuna huma wkoll. Din hija esperjenza li ma kinux imhejjija ghaliha. L-appogg individwali jew fi grupp (it-tnejn huma offruti) jghinhom jiddiskutu x'lingwagg ghandhom juzaw man-neputijiet meta jitkellmu dwar is-separazzjoni tal-genituri taghhom, x'tip ta' komunikazzjoni jista' jkollhom ma' mart/ zewg uliedhom, kif jitkellmu ma' uliedhom li sseparaw, kif ikampaw mal-fatt li uliedhom gew lura d-dar ghal ftit jew ghat-tul. Dan is-servizz ukoll qed jigi organizzat id f'id mal-Kummissjoni Gustizzja u Paci ta' l-Agostinjani f'Hal Tarxien. Kull nhar t'Erbgha bejn l-10.00 u l-11.30 ta' filghodu.
More/Aktar informazzjoni...

Persuni bi problemi ta' sahha mentali:

Fuljett ġgħall-qraba

Il- Mental Health Association (MHA) harget fuljett ckejken bil-Malti u Ingli¿ ta' ghajnuna ghall-qraba ta' persuni bi problemi ta' sahha mentali. Bil-permess ta' Ms Connie Magro, il-Presidenta tal-MHA, qed nirriproducu il-fuljett bi¿-¿ewg lingwi ghal kull min ghandu b¿onnu. L-MHA hija rappre¿entata fuq il-Bord tal- European Federation of Families of the Mentally Ill (EUFAMI). Ta' min jghid ukoll li l-MHA ghadha kif ippubblikat 3 kotba ghat-tfal dwar is-sahha mentali. It-tlieta huma miktuba minn Carmel C. Cauchi:

• •  Hija Jeremy
• •  Il-Mama Spiss Ma Tiflahx
• •  Il-Papa ghandu problema

Tistghu tikkuntattjaw l-MHA f'dan l-indirizz: Mental Health Association, Kaxxa Postali 19, Mosta.

Il-fuljett:

KIF IGGIB RUHEK MAL–MARD MENTALI

- 14-IL PRINCIPJU GHALL-QRABA

miktub minn Ken Alexander

• IRREALIZZA li l-marda m'hix rari. Tista' tidher hekk, imma dan ghaliex ftit jikellmu fuqha.
• TGHALLEM kemm tista' dwar il- marda: il- kaw¿a taghha, il-mixja taghha, l-effetti taghha.
• QATT twahhal fik innifsek. Dan jista' j¿ommok milli tlahhaq mal-htigiet marbuta ma' din il-marda. Il-mard mentali m'hux htija tal-qraba.
• FITTEX ghajnuna minn professjonisti li huma EFFETTIVI.
• IKKUNTATTJA xi ghaqda li turi lill-familji bil-mard mentali kif jghinu lilhom infushom. .
• ACCETTA l-fatt li, ma' marda daqshekk kumplessa, ahna l-qraba GHANDNA b¿onn it-tahrig.
• FITTEX LI TAGHRAF l-esigenzi u l-pressjonijiet dejjem ji¿diedu, u li kontinwament jaghfsu fuqna l-qraba.
• AGHTI ATTENZJONI KBIRA ghall-b¿onnijiet tal-membri l-ohra tal-familija.
• IFHIMHA SEWWA li s-sagrificcju bla limitu tieghek innifsek iwassslek biex ma tkunx tiflah i¿jed tiehu hsieb il-marid u tlahhaq ma' l-e¿igenzi marbuta mal-marda.
• KUN AF li jekk tqatta' hinijiet twal hafna mal-marid, iktar tgharraq il-bicca.
• ŻOMM U STABILIXXI hbiberiji, attivitajiet u passatempi.
• IMMIRA lejn indipendenza xierqa ghall-marid KIF UKOLL ghalik innifsek.
• HU HSIEB HAFNA tieghek innifsek.
• TISTAGHGIBX li fl-ahhar mill-ahhar tkun il- HILA LI TIBDEL u li thares lejn l-affarijiet b'mod differenti, li ghad tiddistingwi l-qraba li jkampaw minn dawk li ma jkampawx.

(Sors Gunju 2008: Mental Health Association, Kaxxa Postali Nru. 19, Mosta, MALTA)

Persons with Mental Illness

Brochure for relatives and carers

The Mental Health Association (MHA) has recently published a handy bi-lingual leaflet aimed at relatives of persons with mental health problems. With the approval of Ms Connie Magro, MHA President, we are reproducing here the full text of the leaflet for easy reference by anyone accessing our site. The MHA is a member of the Board of the European Federation of Families of the Mentally Ill (EUFAMI). Of particular interest are three children's books in Maltese published recently and authored by Carmel C. Cauchi. Here are the titles:

•  Hija Jeremy

•  Il-Mama Spiss Ma Tiflahx

•  Il-Papa ghandu problema

The MHA postal address is: Mental Health Association, P.O.Box 19, Mosta, Malta.

Brochure text:

COPING WITH MENTAL ILLNESS

- 14 Principles For The Relatives

by Ken Alexander

• REALISE that the illness is not rare. It may seem to be, but that's because it is ‘not talked about'.
• LEARN as much as possible. The illness: it's cause, it's course, its outcome.
• NEVER self-blame: it can destroy your chance of coping. Mental lllness is not caused by the relatives.
• SEEK professional helpers who are EFFECTIVE .
• CONTACT a self-help group for families with Mental lllness.
• ACCEPT that with such a complex illness, we the relatives DO need training .
• GET TO KNOW the ever-increasing pressures, to which we, the relatives are subject.
• PAY GREAT ATTENTION to the needs of the other members of the family.
• TAKE HEED that unlimited conditional self-sacriface is fatal to effective caring and coping.
• BE AWARE that spending massive massive amounts of time with a sufferer can make matters worse.
• MAINTAIN AND ESTABLISH friendships, activities and hobbies.
• SET YOUR SIGHTS on appropriate independence for your relative AND for yourself.
• DON 'T BE SURPRISED that in the end IT IS THE ABILITY to change and look at things differently, that will distinguish relatives who will cope from those will not.
• TAKE very great CARE of yourself.

(Source June 2008: Mental Health Association, P.O. Box 19, Mosta, Malta.