“Let us continue working together, as a nation, united in the pursuit of holistic approaches to the conservation of our water supplies”
The President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, today inaugurated a grey-water system at the Helen Keller Centre. The grey water system has, for the past fourteen months, added another level of benefits to the work which Helen Keller Resource Centre does on behalf of their students.
President Coleiro Preca said that one of the benefits of the new system is the reduction in the prohibitive costs of the volume of water used for the centre’s jacuzzi, which offers essential hydro-therapeutic treatment to the children and young adults who rely on the centre whilst adding that ‘thanks to the installation of this system, water is being treated and re-used to also secure benefits to other parts of the centre. Indeed, alongside hydrotherapy, the centre’s gardens are receiving irrigation without placing undue stress on limited freshwater resources”.
The President said that this is an excellent example of water conservation which clearly indicates that the Helen Keller Resource Centre has taken its environmental responsibilities to new heights.
“Grey-water systems connect us to the global vision of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which focus on the importance of sustainability and water access in particular.”
The President said that the SDGs encourage us, as a society, to remember that ‘waste water’ is never, in fact wasted. Instead, it must form part of the life-giving cycles of water reuse which sustain our agriculture, our gardens, our institutions, and our homes. The President commended Helen Keller Resource Centre for taking up these goals, and for working to implement them in their own context.
President Coleiro Preca said we need to ensure that water remains readily available and that unnecessary waste should be avoided, saying that ‘this must be a central part of all our ecologically-sensitive approaches to the preservation of Malta’s natural environment’.
The President commended the visionary work of the director of Helen Keller Resource Centre, Ms Connie Richard, as it with thanks to her vision, and the work of her dedicated team that ‘this ingenious strategy for water conservation is improving the lives of the students and of the community’, whilst thanking Ms Richard, on behalf of all the students and families who benefit from her hard work, and that of her team.
Lastly, President Coleiro Preca said that it is our duty to do all that we can do to ensure that ecological strategies are developed – strategies which prioritise the health and wellbeing of our society, for the benefit of both present and future generations.