Silent City comes alive to the sound of children

Mdina, the Silent City, was yesterday transformed into a children's playground with the voices of youngsters ringing out as they invaded the normally quiet streets.

Attempts by teachers to shush them fell on deaf ears as some 1,300 schoolchildren descended on the old capital to raise funds for the Equal Partners Foundation while also sending a message encouraging young people to discover Mdina's hidden treasures.

The second edition of Dawra Durella Madwar L-Mdina was also aimed at making children more conscious that there are people with a disability in the community. The foundation was set up nine years ago to provide personalised therapy programmes and support to families with members who have a disability or learning difficulties.

The children, from some 20 different schools, sat down on the ground in front of the Mdina Cathedral as the wind threatened to blow their colourful caps away.

They shouted and clapped when Little Red Riding Hood took to the make-shift stage on the church's parvis and asked the children whether they had seen the bad wolf, which was at that moment in hiding.

And they booed enthusiastically when the wolf came out of his cavern and tricked Little Red Riding Hood into telling him where she was headed.

Tourists stopped to look at the youngsters enjoying themselves and singing traditional Maltese songs, with some even taking a picture or two of the child-filled square.

Children's Commissioner Carmen Zammit remarked that it was very important for children to have fun while President Eddie Fenech Adami - who opened the event - stressed the importance of treating everyone equally and respecting people's dignity.

Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sport Clyde Puli pointed to the importance of instilling a sense of solidarity in children from a young age.