Malta Launches First Mental Wellbeing Programme for Special Olympics Athletes: Qalbna, Qalbna

**Game-Changers of the Heart: New Mental Wellbeing Programme Launches for Special Olympics Malta Athletes**

Valletta – In a sun-splashed courtyard overlooking the Grand Harbour, Special Olympics Malta athletes, coaches and families gathered yesterday to launch the island’s first mental wellbeing programme tailored specifically for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Dubbed “Qalbna, Qalbna” (“Our Hearts, Our Hearts”), the initiative blends evidence-based psychology with Maltese community traditions—think għana guitar sessions, festa fireworks debriefs and post-training pastizzi circles—to tackle anxiety, isolation and low self-esteem that too often shadow athletic triumph.

“Sport gives our athletes medals; we now want to give them peace of mind,” declared Marlene Pace, Director of Special Olympics Malta. Speaking in both Maltese and English, Pace unveiled a 12-month pilot funded by a €120,000 grant from the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation and corporate partner GO. The programme will reach 210 registered athletes across Malta and Gozo, pairing licensed psychologists with “peer champions”—athletes who have competed internationally and speak the same linguistic and experiential dialect.

Dr. Daniela Gatt, a clinical psychologist from the University of Malta who helped design the curriculum, explained why a bespoke intervention matters. “International studies show that people with intellectual disabilities experience depression and anxiety at double the general population rate, yet only 8 % receive adequate support,” she noted. “In Malta, tight-knit families are a super-power, but they can also unintentionally shield members from accessing professional help. Qalbna, Qalbna brings therapy onto the sports field where stigma dissolves.”

The programme unfolds in three Maltese-flavoured phases. First, colourful “emoji kennels” (named after the ubiquitous Maltese fishing boats) will travel to training hubs in Marsa, Kirkop and Victoria, offering one-to-one screening disguised as video-game quizzes. Phase two rolls out eight-week group workshops combining mindfulness, goal-setting and narrative therapy, all delivered in Maltese sign language and Easy-Read Maltese. The final phase invites parents, siblings and coaches to “Festa tal-Qalb” community evenings modelled on village patron-saint feasts—complete with brass bands, fairy lights and moderated conversations about mental health.

Cultural nuance runs deep. Instead of Western “white-room” therapy imagery, promotional materials feature athletes silhouetted against honey-coloured limestone, a palette borrowed from Mdina’s medieval walls. Even the programme name itself, repeated for poetic emphasis, echoes the traditional Maltese lament “Qalbna, qalbna, miskina!”—a phrase historically sung at funerals but here reclaimed as a communal heartbeat of resilience.

For 19-year-old bowler Ritianne Borg from Żejtun, the launch felt like “winning another gold before the game starts.” Borg, who took bronze at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, confessed she used to vomit from nerves before local matches. “Coaches told me ‘just breathe,’ but nobody taught me how,” she said, clutching her trademark leopard-print bowling towel. “Now I’ll learn real tools—and I want to teach younger kids so they don’t feel knots in their stomach like I did.”

Community impact already ripples beyond the athletes themselves. Minister for Inclusion Julia Farrugia Portelli announced that government will embed programme modules within the national sports strategy for people with disabilities, ensuring sustainability beyond pilot funding. Meanwhile, local councils in Birkirkara and Rabat have pledged municipal venues free of charge, recognising mental health as a civic priority rather than a niche charity concern.

Businesses are joining the wave. Pastizzeria chain Lordos is printing “Qalbna” mini-cards with every order, directing customers to a donation SMS line. Even the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra has offered to record calming soundscapes inspired by Gozo’s Ġgantija temples, downloadable for pre-competition focus.

As golden afternoon light danced on the harbour, Marlene Pace summed up the sentiment: “When our athletes feel strong inside, Malta’s whole community lifts.” With Qalbna, Qalbna, the island’s smallest republic of courage just got a bigger heart.