A literacy teacher’s work trip to Malta

Blog post by Reeka Meri-Rastila, literacy teacher at Helsingin aikuisopiston peruskoulu

At the beginning of June 2025, I travelled to Valletta, the capital of Malta. My trip was part of the Erasmus+ mobility programme. My partner was the Maltese NGO Blue Door Education. The organisation teaches English and important life skills to people in vulnerable situations. The students come from many different countries, and some of them are asylum seekers. There are different groups, from literacy level up to B level.

Over the years, Blue Door Education has become a well-known and respected organisation. During my visit, for example, the Irish ambassador visited it. A group of volunteers works there regularly, and all the trainers are teachers by profession. While I was in Malta, I took part in English and life skills lessons on several days. My task was to observe the lessons, add to the content and help the teachers when needed. Above all, it was interesting to notice how similar my work in Finland is to the work of the organisation: the teachers’ methods, materials and lesson content are mostly similar, even though the language is different.

On Sundays, a community called The VX Foundry also meets at Blue Door Education. Their goal is to use leftover fabrics and other textiles and give them a new life. In the photo below, The VX Foundry’s leader Tonya Lehtinen poses happily with other volunteers. The photo was taken by Chelsea Xiao.

A little holiday

On my Erasmus trip, I could step away from everyday life for a while and relax in a new place. Walking around the city, I first noticed the architecture and the city centre. Everywhere around me there were light-coloured buildings. The city was atmospheric and full of history, and because of the season, also full of tourists.

During my trip, I tried to go to beaches around central Valletta as often as I could and to enjoy the local food culture. Everyone can find something they like to eat in Valletta, because the city is full of restaurants serving, for example, Italian, French, Turkish and Asian food, burgers, salads and different meat and fish dishes. And Malta sells five-star pineapple juice.

One evening, I went to Mosta, a small town nearby. One of its most important sights is the Rotunda church in the photo. In 1942, a German bomb fell into the church during a service, but the bomb did not explode. So everyone inside survived.

On the side of refugees

In Malta, I also took part in events organised by the art and culture festival Refugee Week Malta. The programme included, for example, a nature walk, a panel discussion and different workshops, exhibitions and film screenings. The international Refugee Week supports art made by asylum seekers and refugees, builds community and encourages public discussion. The festival started with a nature walk on the west side of Malta’s main island. The event dealt with the themes of change, migration and remembering. After the walk, the participants were invited to a shared dinner at the premises of The Veg Box, a local organic business, where the evening continued in a nice atmosphere.

One of the most memorable events was a panel discussion organised by several organisations: ‘Exploring Safe Havens as Spaces for Connection, Creativity and Activism: What Does Safe Haven Mean for You?’ The panellists talked about their childhoods and the negative effects of years of infill building on the island’s nature, local environment and people. Unfortunately, as someone from Helsinki, I have similar thoughts and experiences when I see the city’s green areas disappearing.