A girl was making up excuses to avoid going to school because she did not want to show her friends that her parents could not afford to pay for an outing.

The girl’s father had lost his job after he fell into severe depression following his diagnosis as a diabetic. This pushed the family of seven below the poverty line, Connie Magro from the Mental Health Association said.

“The real poor do not go out there and beg. They try not to show people they are poor. This is why outreach services are so important,” Ms Magro said during a conference on poverty during Christmas organised by the National Youth Council (KNŻ).

Ms Magro recounted how, through outreach, the association spoke to the girl’s headmistress who agreed the school would pay for the outing without letting anyone know.

The number of Maltese constantly struggling to keep up with bills rose to 31 per cent from six per cent over the past 12 months, according to a recent EU survey.

KNŻ member Alexia Sammut pointed out that poverty affected young people differently because, apart from the financial constraints, they had to grapple with peer pressure.

Young people wanted to fit in with their friends and when they could not afford branded clothes and expensive social activities they felt left out.

“There are many young people out there who seem to be alright but have to hold back on a lot of things because they don’t have money,” Ms Sammut said.

Aware of this reality, Children’s Commissioner Helen D’Amato urged young people to look out for their friends since even those who seemed to be the most popular of the crowd could be hiding problems.

Christmas was a time of the year when people’s sorrows were magnified by the happiness they saw around them. So, she said, this was a time to keep an eye open for any friends in need.

She laid stress on the importance of education to ensure children born into poor families would be able to improve their chances of a better life.

KNŻ general secretary Matthew Vella said more emphasis ought to be placed on encouraging young people to carry out voluntary work and take on careers in the social fields to help those in need.

Social worker Anthony Girard, who works with Caritas, spoke about helping young people reach their potential since “people can change”.

He recounted the story of a teenager who attended a drug rehabilitation programme nine years ago after he was convicted of drug trafficking.

The young man had made a pact with a friend to take an overdose together. But as his friend went ahead, he changed his mind. He was eventually charged with trafficking.

Shattered, he initially resisted help offered during the rehabilitation sessions. Today he was clean, had rebuilt his life and had a family.