Reskeon Seniors Group
by Paul Vella

A new group was created to look after the welfare and the social needs of our senior citizens, something that has never been done by any other association like Reskeon.
 
This group is called Reskeon Seniors Group.
 
They had their first meeting in August 1996 where around 45 people attended the first gathering. The year after this number grew to 120, to 200 the following year. At present we have around 300 financial members on our list. The group grew so much that we had to look for another venue for our meetings, At present we meet at the Merrilands Community Centre, in Reservoir.
 
The group meets once a week, where those present play Bingo (Tombla), and bocce, and where they can enjoy a cheap meal at lunchtime with tea and coffee costing next to nothing. Again some Maltese food is provided. Membership cost $A1 a month per member ($US0.64, 25c Maltese currency).
 
Activities, apart from the weekly meetings, are a day at the beach, a trip to the country including a free barbecue lunch with drinks, a Mother’s Day Lunch, a Father’s Day Lunch, and a Christmas Luncheon at La Mirage. These activities are heavily subsidised (more than 50%) by the club and the members pay a very small fee. Some of the outings are provided free of charge including the barbecue with drinks.
 
The establishment of this group has been a good thing as we must look after our senior citizens.  At least for one day a week, thanks to this group, our senior citizens leave their homes to meet others socially. The comments we hear from these people encourage us to do more for them. Comments such as: "from tomorrow I will be waiting for the next Wednesday to come here again" and "before I joined this group I did not go out much."
 
This group is going from strength to strength which is due to the committee who work very hard every day of the week and the help from other members.