The Beginning

At the end of the year 1998, 12 families, each having a child with disability, started to meet in each other's homes in order to share their experiences, including thoughts, therapies, knowledge about disability and plans for the future. During these meetings they were joined by a number of professionals who at the time were providing services to these families' children. Everyone welcomed this collaboration between parents and professionals, especially since the children were benefiting from it. Therefore, an agreement was reached to officially establish a foundation promoting this collaboration and interaction. This occurred in the month of January of the following year (1999).

Today

Since the launch, the services offered by the Foundation have continued to expand. Nowadays, services are being offered to nearly a hundred (100) persons with disability ranging from infants to adults. One of the main principles of Equal Partners is that the services offered are personalized to each and every individual and family. Also, the support is offered at home, in the school and in the community, thus allowing the children to remain in their everyday reality.
The committee of the Foundation is made up of nine (9) individuals representing parents and professionals, with the former always holding the majority in order to safeguard the interest of the families. This committee meets at least once a fortnight at our administration office in Floriana.

The Philosphy

The philosophy upon which Equal Partners is built upon is derived from the needs and aspirations of parents of children with disabilities. It provides the Foundation with direction as its aim is to give people with disability an independent life in an inclusive society. The foundation's principles are built around three main objectives:

a. Cooperation between parents, people with a disability and professionals: Parents have an active role in the designing of the services. They approve the programme designed in continuous consultation with the professionals, a programme that is often developed in these families' kitchens. This 'round-the-kitchen-table policy' places parents' wishes on the forefront, and in any case, there is no one who knows the children more than the parents do.

b. Individualised support and only where it is required: Each and every person is unique and every person has the right to live in a community. Therefore, especially in the case of people with disability, it is appalling when these facts are ignored. Equal Partners recognizes the individuality of every person by developing an individualized programme for every member. The Foundation also emphasizes the community by providing support where it is required: at home, at school, at catechism classes, at scouts, at the work place, in places of leisure and recreation, etc. Equal Partners emphasizes that the support belongs to the individual and not vice-versa. To isolate and exclude a human being from his/her surroundings on the basis of having to provide support is a form of alienation.

c. Working towards an inclusive society: We chose the name 'Equal Partners' because the concept of equal partnership between people who are so diverse from one another is what leads to an inclusive society. It is not enough to give a person support. We need to create an awareness that goes beyond fund-raising. We need to educate people professionally at a tertiary level. Above all we need to change the mentality of people who tend to separate the person from the disability, to try and 'cure' the disability while forgetting the person behind it.