VACANCIES

My journey with Aġenzija Sapport started during my 2nd year placement when I was reading for a B.A. in Social Work at the University of Malta, during which I was exposed to several learning opportunities. I characterise my work as a journey with the service users and their families. I utilise the vast array of social work skills, social theories and approaches that I have been taught throughout my studies to support them in overcoming barriers posed by society and live a better life. This opportunity made me realise the importance that a Social Worker can make within the lives of persons with a disability and their families, which led me to focus my undergraduate dissertation on disability issues and eventually to start working as a qualified Social Worker with Aġenzija Sapport.

I have been working as a Support Executive within the ICLM Team in Aġenzija Sapport for one and a half years. Having psychology as my area of study has helped me prepare for this role, in the sense that I feel that I can be there for service users through their difficult moments, as well as during joyous occasions. My role is to help service users achieve their goals with their personal assistants, and to guide them towards achieving more independence in their lives, whilst supporting them in any life challenges that they may encounter. I am extremely grateful to have the opportunity to help people enhance their quality of life, and be a part of their journey.

The combination of working in the financial sector and being part of the national agency that enhances the quality of life of persons with disability is very rewarding. Managing public funds requires transparency and accountability whilst making sure that funds allocated by the Government are utilised for the best interest of service users. In my role, although not a frontliner with persons with disability, I support the various departments, including services and projects that will ultimately enhance the quality of life of persons with disability and their family members. The satisfaction of service users, even if it is just a thank you note, makes it even more worthwhile. With my financial knowledge and experience, I can keep assisting Aġenzija Sapport to continue achieving its vision to be the leader in guiding the community which promotes ability rather than disability.

Being a health care professional was always my target. I love the arts and helping people, and for that reason I chose to study occupational therapy. The holistic nature of the profession allows me to assist service users in all areas of life and my studies allowed me to build on my skills and intervene holistically. The pluses of this profession are that it is flexible, enabling you to use your creativity and scientific background to carry out interventions and use your interests to get to know the service users better, shaping your interventions accordingly. Occupational therapy thrives within the disability sector; the service users are at the centre of interventions together with their support network and environment. My aim is to help individuals become their best selves, promote independence and ensure a positive quality of life.

My studies have taught me a lot about the beauty of diversity and individuality, both of myself and of others. Psychology helped me to empathise as well as understand better the people I am surrounded with. In the disability sector, persons with disabilities may often be treated as lesser beings; this could not be further away from the truth. My studies and passion have given me the motivation to act on the core foundation that individuals within the disability sector, regardless of their different abilities, are all worthy of love and of life; and are worthy of being given the same chances and opportunities as everyone else.

I graduated in law (LLD) in 2010. I was enticed into the field of EU funding, an area where my legal training and resultant mind-set proved to be invaluable. By 2019, after having worked in the fields of inclusion, funding and education I had the opportunity to take on a directorship of a department within the field of disability. The disability sector is a broad one, and it is also raw and heavily misunderstood. Law may have helped me paint the world in black and white, but it also enforced my ideals on humanity, autonomy and equity, values which I try and apply fully in my duties to improve the lives of persons with disability.

I like to describe my experience at Aġenzija Sapport as a continuous learning journey. The most important aspect of my role as a Support Executive stands in the name itself – Providing support.
As a support executive in the day services team, I support the service users in having a positive and holistic experience at the day centre, whilst making sure that they have the appropriate and adequate support to reach and maintain their goals as well as lead a good-quality life.
My experience at Aġenzija Sapport has also allowed me the opportunity to put to practice my background in Psychology and Gender Studies, particularly the concepts of adopting a person-centred approach, diversity and social context amongst others. When working with service users it is of utmost importance not to generalise nor categorise but keep in mind that every person is so much more than just their disability.
Not only has my role broadened my knowledge and experience in the field of disability but I feel lucky to have the opportunity to cross paths with so many wonderful personalities.

I’m currently a 2nd year student at the University of Malta. Part of my course allows youths, staff and persons with disabilities to take part in projects in collaboration with foreign agencies. At Aġenzija Sapport, my job as a student trainee is to work on various EU Projects. This allows me to directly implement my studies at my place of work. Working within the disability sector was an easy choice, being that it benefits me both by learning more about the European Union and its various funding opportunities whilst making a positive impact on society as a whole by giving opportunities to persons with a disability.