NGO raises funds to let the children play

After a week of lessons and schoolwork, the resident children at Dar Sagra Familja look forward to their weekend when they can let out all that stored-up energy and play.

But despite the fact that the Zabbar home has a large garden, the children can only play in a small paved area because most of the place is run down and dangerous.

Hopefully, however, things will change as there are plans to embellish the garden and transform it into a playground that the children, who came from a background of social problems, so deserve.

Terra Di Mezzo (TDM) 2000 Malta is a non-governmental non-profit organisation that is helping Dar Sagra Familja raise the Lm60,000 needed to cover expenses that include the provision of playing equipment, the paving of the playground and the landscaping of the garden and areas around the play fields.

Sister Rose Xuereb, who has been at the home for 22 years, explained how it operated just like any other household with children.

Every morning the 20 resident children at Dar Sagra Familja go to school and return to do their homework with the help of the five nuns based at the home.

However, when the weekend comes and the children have the time to indulge in some outdoor play time, they can only make use of a tiny paved fraction of the large run-down garden that forms part of the home's land.

The main issue is that the area is dangerous for the children. So, despite having the space, they are usually forced to play in the paved area or in a small internal yard where they run the risk of breaking one thing or another.

"They are children and want to play, so it's a pity to have to constantly tell them to be careful not to break anything when we have this land they could play freely on," she said.

Sr Xuereb explained how the idea of embellishing the garden had been brewing for about six years.

"This has been our dream and our wish, particularly in view of the fact that some of the children we have in our care, whose ages range from three to 16 years, do not always have the opportunity to go home on weekends or during the holidays.

"In view of this we have been investigating the realisation of this project, but as the expense for this venture was estimated at about Lm60,000, we are not in a position to carry it out. Notwithstanding this difficulty, we have been trying to collect funds, but we are still a long way off," she said.

Now, with the help of TDM, this will hopefully become a reality.

Following the success of TDM's first voluntary project in Malta, Work Out: Promoting Exercise for All that sought to renovate and refurbish the physiotherapy rehabilitation gym at Id-Dar tal-Providenza, TDM amplified its ambitions and set higher goals in its second project Reaching For The Stars: All Children Have A Right To Play.

"This project aims at reconstructing the grounds at Dar Sagra Familja in the hope that the children of the home can finally benefit from a safe outdoor play area, where they can play freely to their hearts content," TDM president Duncan Muscat said.

He explained that TDM has been holding a series of fund-raising events and has launched an awareness campaign in order to raise funds.

Upcoming activities include a Music Weekend at Ryan's Irish Pub in St Julians between November 23 and 25 and Reaching For The Stars, a European Commission-funded initiative with the participation of some of the residents of Dar Sagra Familja, in December.

For more information on TDM 2000 Malta visit www.tdm2000malta.org.

Anyone who wishes to donate money towards the new playground can call Dar Sagra Familja on 2182 5387.