Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/216204
44 Events maltatoday, Sunday, 24 November 2013 Bank of Valletta's Preluna Towers Branch wins the 'Branch of the Year for 2013' award Preluna Branch, has been awarded the Bank of Valletta Branch of the Year award for the financial year 2013. The winning branch, which is led by Branch Manager, Horace Laudi, underwent grueling screening by two separate panels of BOV employees, representing a fair cross section of the Bank's different units. Besides attaining its business goals within the framework of good corporate governance, BOV Preluna Towers' performance was perfectly aligned to the Bank's customer-centric strategy. The Branch attained a superlative level of customer service throughout the year. The Preluna Towers Branch team received the news first hand this afternoon by Peter Perotti Chief Officer Personal Banking accompanied by Alan Cassar Executive Head, Branch Network. The delight was visible on the faces of the 17 team members. Upon congratulating the employees, Peter Perotti said, "It gives me great pleasure to note that competition this year was tough. Our retail network faced and continues to face significant pressures and challenges. Our people at Preluna Towers Branch distinguished themselves in the extent to which they went the extra mile for their customer, as is apparent in the feedback received from customers themselves. It is clear that there is a strong sense of teamwork within the branch, and our people here really feel an integral part of the local community." Thanking the executive team for their visit, Horace Laudi attributed the award primarily to the teamwork existing at his Branch, which reflects in enhanced level of service extended to customers and to the excellent relationship with the community at large. Peter Perotti expressed his confidence that the remaining 37 branches within the BOV retail network will do their utmost to emulate the example set by Preluna Towers Branch. He also took the opportunity to thank the Bank's support units for assisting the front-liners in their quest to extend a high quality service to the Bank's customers. Former addicts make their way to New York with great results It is still dark when Sara Floriddia laces her shoes and goes running on the hilltop roads near the Adriatic coast of Italy. With every mile, she leaves her past further behind. When Floriddia, 34, came here to San Patrignano, one of the largest drug rehabilitation centres in Europe, she had been a heroin addict for five years. She remembers crying, even as she administered her doses. Now she is a part of an unusual running team of six former drug addicts who will represent San Patrignano on Sunday in the New York City Marathon. "We are broken vases that have been glued together again," Floriddia said. "But if we can work and live in a healthy environment, we won't break again." Tucked in the northern hills of Italy, San Patrignano is not a typical training ground for marathoners. It has 1,300 residents at its main facility, which doubles as a small farming community. The addicts submit to a four year rehabilitation program in which they must cultivate their food, clean their rooms and undertake tasks like making cheese, raising pigs and cows, and producing wine. And some have become runners. Since February, a top marathon coach, Gabriele Rosa, has been training the program's team of runners to help improve their selfconfidence. The New York City Marathon is a way for the runners to pursue a dream, but it is also an opportunity to draw attention to San Patrignano. "We also hope that the visibility of the N.Y.C. Marathon could make our community known and available to other people in need all over the world," said Letizia Moratti, a longtime supporter of San Patrignano and the president of its United States affiliate, Friends of San Patrignano. San Patrignano, which was founded in 1979 and has two smaller branches in Italy, is not like many drug rehabilitation centres. It is free, for one. Un- less the newcomers need to scale down their use of methadone, residents are not given substitution medicines. They can see a therapist but are not compelled to. Social workers and former drug addicts who have seniority in the program assist those who have just arrived. If necessary, the seniors "crowd around you and talk you off the cliff," as an American resident put it. The San Patrignano method mirrors the mental and physical discipline needed to run, forcing the participants to work methodically, Rosa said as his group of runners, who have 3 to 18 years of drug addiction behind them, ran up a slope. "I am confident that they will all finish the race in a good time, out of personal motivation or out of gratitude for this community," Rosa said. For many, San Patrignano is family. About a third of the 422 collaborators and volunteers in the community were once residents there. Antonio Boschini, the community's therapeutic manager, graduated with a medical degree in the 1980s from the University of Verona while living in San Patrignano, where he still lives, with his wife and two children. He is also a member of the running team. "Drug addicts are not ill people; they are not doomed to lead a life of minor league," Boschini said. "We need to show it to the world when in New York." For Andrea Grossi, 27, running is a continual challenge requiring his concentration at every step. "They all know it — I just don't want to run in the first 20 minutes," he said. "Then I break that mental barrier and I love it." Grossi recounted his personal victory at the Rome Marathon in 2011. At Mile 23, he thought he could not take it anymore. Fatigue took over his mind before his legs. Yet he would not stop. Training for months and then finishing the race proved to him that he was no longer the boy who provoked 13 car and scooter accidents in a daze of drugs. "We used to be derelicts of society, people in the corner," he said, but no more. For some athletes from San Patrignano, the New York City Marathon is their first important test. Floriddia, now a nurse in the community, said it was a matter of pride for her to complete the race in less than five hours. She is also racing so that her father, an award-winning road runner now in his 60s, will be proud of her. "When I was little and we followed him to the races, I hated it," she said. "At the finishing line, he was drenched in sweat; at times he would even throw up. 'Why would he do it to himself?' I thought." Now, her raven black hair proudly stands out as the team's runners march up a hill in bright yellow shirts. She has never left Europe. She is one of the two female runners flying to New York, and the only one who is still going through the rehabilitation program. She said she feels the need to pave the way for former addicts like her, and for everyone else who needs to learn how to keep their self-destructive tendencies out of their lives. "At times I worry that when I'll be out of here, I could get discouraged, bored or be nervous again," she said. "But now I know what I'll do. I will run." Source: New York Times Malta Red Cross calls for volunteers The Malta Red Cross is a voluntary, humanitarian organisation which relies heavily on support from the local community in terms of donations and volunteers in order to make its work possible. "To help us recruit more volunteers, from time to time we organise meetings for new volunteers. These meetings are intended to introduce prospect volunteers to the Red Cross; help them understand what we do and give them a taste of what the Red Cross has to offer them," said Paulette Fenech, Director General at Malta Red Cross, "In brief our volunteers are our heartbeat – a lifeline which allows us to provide our community with a service. Without our people we would not be in a position to deliver on our promises!" The Malta Red Cross has been providing service and support to the local community since 1991. The activities of the Malta Red Cross can be divided into domestic activities, which mainly include civil protection, social services including human support, social assistance and refugee support and health and safety related education. "Red Cross is not merely an Ambulance Service – there is much more to our services and operations, said Fenech, "We offer all sorts of training courses both locally and abroad, where our volunteers receive certification from registered bodies. Additionally, for many of our volunteers the Red Cross is a family endeavour – parents and kids enjoy their family time together in a different way. This is one of the strengths of our organisation that there is a place for everyone." A meeting for interested parties and new volunteers will be held on Friday, 29 November at 7pm at the Pembroke operations premises. Please call on 99 388112 or email secretary@redcrossmalta.org.mt if you are interested in coming. Find us on Facebook if you would like to become a Malta Red Cross Volunteer: www.redcross.org.mt h t t p s : // w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m / pages/Malta-Red-CrossOperations/225484080868661 Members of the Public Protection visit St Edward's College Kindergarten Earlier this week children from the college's Kindergarten got to experience firsthand a day in the life of a public protection agent. As part of their curriculum, Kindergarten students learn about 'People Who Help Us', which would include fire fighters, policemen, doctors and nurses, soldiers and many more. This week the students got the chance to meet members from the Armed Forces, members from the Police Corps and members from the Civil Protection along with their vehicles and equipment. During the visit, children experienced what it is like being in a police car and to sound the siren. They also got to hold a fire hose and learned how firemen use various firefighting tools in case of an emergency. The representatives from Armed Forces explained how they use their radios when out at sea to communicate with their colleagues on shore. The children were all smiles as they visited each station class by class. Last week we also were lucky when the very same students were visited by a local dentist; another person in society who forms part of their 'People Who Help Us' topic. Sciberras visited the classes with her friend Max the dinosaur and his big toothbrush. The children were encouraged to eat healthy food like carrots and apples, and were told that sweets should only be eaten twice a week – apart from when they have the occasional party! The children enjoyed giving examples of the good healthy food they will start bringing for lunch to school. Then they each got a turn brushing Max's teeth the correct way. To finish off the activity, the children received 'a goodie' bag with a toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash to take home.