Paul Calvert spoke with Sister Maria Grech about their counselling service, renovating homes and helping families with university tuition fees.

Maria: They do because the university needs money. So they need to pay their university fees, although we are trying to help as much as possible as the church in Bethlehem, to pay these universities, by giving them scholarships. The families really need help when they have three to four kids; it's very difficult to pay university studies.

Paul: Is it difficult counselling a family for the very first time?

Maria: In the beginning it is very difficult, because they know that a lot of personal things will be going to be talked about. But the first thing that they ask is, "Who are you?" and once they know I am a Sister and more and more I am a foreigner, then they have much more trust to talk. Also, they know that nothing comes out from the centre as it's confidential.

Paul: Is it difficult to get someone to come to counselling in the first place?

Maria: I think it is difficult for everybody counselling because as I said before you are going to talk about your personal things. For the woman I think it is much easier to talk, as she is talking to another woman, but for a man it's a bit difficult. I think the men will come because they are Christians and they want to keep their family together, so that brings them to this centre because they know that their family could be separated and break.

Paul: You also do a renovation project. Tell us more about that.

Maria: When somebody comes new in the centre, we visit the family to see why the woman is so depressed and why they came to the centre and why they are asking for separation. Seeing the house that sometimes they are living in, if they are living with the in-laws, if they are just living in one room and they have to share the kitchen or share the bathroom, then it's very difficult for the young family. We thought about how to give them more dignity in how they live. I was thinking if I add a kitchen to them, or if I add a bathroom to them and they will be more separated from their in-laws, so that will help. Also, having an extra room to separate the boys from the girls, as boys and girls sleeping together can also bring problems to the family, so we give this our priority to separate the girls from the boys.

Through doing this work we are giving work to our young fathers who found themselves without work. When these people come and I tell them, "I don't have anything to give them, but I have work, then these young men told me, "Sister give us back our dignity because we don't want to beg any more, this is not our life, this is not our way of living".

They never came to ask again for bread, or for milk, or for food. They always come and ask me, "Sister have you got any work? We want to work." I appreciate this.

Paul: What's it like for you going to see a family once a renovation has taken place?

Maria: Yes, this has happened many times. Once a project is finished, they come and tell me, "Sister our lives have changed. We are living in our dignity". I find a woman keeping her house cleaner and she would add something to their house to make it look nicer, so for me that gave me more encouragement to continue this job of house renovation.

Paul: You have been living in Bethlehem for many years. Why do you do what you do?

Maria: I believe in what I am doing. I have been living here for many years and I really love these people that I live with and I work with and I hope to continue here.

Paul: Are you building a good relationship from the Church towards the Palestinian community?