Very serious neglect, abuse, rejection, grave parental sickness or misconduct and abandonment are the main factors that lead children aged zero to even over 18 to be admitted to out-of-home residential units. Twenty such residential units are run by the Catholic Church in Malta.
In a way, children in such residential units are almost the lucky ones when compared to those on a list waiting to be accommodated while they may be roaming the streets or living in a negative home environment.
These are the Maltese society’s broken birds. They are a shocking reality albeit unknown to many Maltese.
A reality so shocking, it shies and hides away, transparent even from the media’s inquisitive attention.
I call for these children to be noticed. The media is needed to bring their reality to those who can help our homes, including Church entities, make ends meet for these children to live the decent and dignified life they were created for, in a unit that feels like home and family.
Anyone running a home, albeit a domestic one, knows the sums needed to live on. We cannot quantify the expenditure one would incur to run our homes.
Most of what we have is provided for by religious sisters and fathers, who do not earn a salary for their 24/7 work, and benefactors, from our daily bread, to physical, psychological and emotional support services, education, extra-curricular activities and the environment we live in.
Our (Church agency) organisation, Ejjew Għandi, more commonly referred to as Children’s Homes, also runs five child day-care centres, assisting families afflicted by social problems mostly living below the poverty line.
Here, children are looked after while the parent/s go/es to work or receive/s therapy for a situation s/he/they are in.
We have two shelters for domestic violence victims, securing protection for both mother and children, and 11 residential homes.
Society’s broken birds are a shocking reality albeit unknown to many Maltese
Although we do our best to help these children either find their place back with their families or move on for fostering or adoption, working very closely with the state agency Appoġġ, some of them are forced to stay on.
In each and every case, our carers treat every child as their own, sharing the love of a family, empowering them for life, softening the skin which, despite the tender age, might have become too thick for comfort. Every child has a right for a secure future and cannot wait.
I admit, we have our weaknesses but we are striving hard not to betray these children along the way.
This is made possible through the support of many benefactors including the Archdiocesan Office of Administration, the College of Parish Priests, the Ministry for Social Policy, the Foundation for Social Services, the Department for Social Welfare Standards, the Advisory Board for Children and Young People, Appoġġ, the Malta Housing Authority, the National Lottery Good Causes Fund, the Malta Community Chest Fund, L-Istrina, the Malta Financial Services Authority, banks, companies, businesses and many families and individuals.
Charity Day 2014, organised by the College of Parish Priests and a sub-committee of the Caritas council, will be celebrated tomorrow.
The proceeds will directly go towards the day-to-day operational aspect of our work: salaries for the lay staff, paying some of our bills, most of all the utilities, carrying out maintenance and refurbishment tasks.
The therapy aspects of our social and charitable work will also benefit from the generosity of our parishes. I wish my appeal reaches far and wide enough to lengthen this list.
The number of children with challenging behaviour, fighting traumas outside structures to contain their frustrations, is increasing and resources are needed to address these realities. Voluntary work is not enough. We need funds to guarantee continuity in the care we give these children.
I hope and pray that this year’s Charity Day will prove to be another great help in raising the much-needed funds.
Mgr Victor Zammit McKeon is director of the central office Ejjew Għandi.