As a child growing up in an institution, Jane* dreamed of belonging to a family. So she was delighted when, one day, two strangers took her home for the weekend.

But her dream seemed more and more unreachable each time she was returned to the institution by the people whom she hoped would become like parents to her.

As she saw them walk away, she knew she would never see them again.

"Being bounced around from one family to another used to make me sick," she says. Jane has lived at the institution since she was born.

By the time she turned nine, Jane stopped hoping and learnt she could not trust anyone. But she would soon be proved wrong.

One day, a couple turned up committed to giving her a home by fostering her. Ten years down the line, she is still living with them.

"They saved me. Fostering gave me a life," Jane says, as she explains that living in an institution does not allow children to get as much attention as they would like.

Last year, 190 children were in foster care, with another 60 living in homes waiting to be fostered. Earlier this month Appoġġ agency launched a campaign to encourage families to help children and adolescents through fostering.

These children and adolescents usually come from troubled families that may not be able to take care of them for various reasons ranging from health problems to abuse.

The main aim of fostering is to provide children with a family environment; a place to live until their family situation is sorted out.

In fact, a foster carer's role is to maintain contact with the family if this is in the child's interest, Appoġġ explained.

"The nuns at the institution were very good with us. But they were not parents and could not give us the type of individual attention we craved," Jane says.

Now 20, she admits that adjusting to life in her new home was not as straightforward as she imagined.

At school she was bullied for being a fostered child, and when she reached adolescence she went through the natural rebellious stage young people go through with their parents. She admits that she objected to curfews, which she did not always observe.

"But I have to stress that, thank God, my parents came into my life," she says, referring to her foster parents as "mum and dad".

Jane is glad to be leading a normal life and has a place to call home. She has been with her boyfriend for several years and gets on well with his family.

As she looks to the future she hopes to soon find a job she likes and build a family of her own. "I want to have children and give them the upbringing I never had," she says.

Jane appeals to any couples who would like to foster a child to do so.

"These children deserve it," she says, as she pauses to add: "However, it's important that the authorities listen to what the children have to say. Being reunited with the biological parents is not always the best thing. I spent one week of my life with my biological family and I hated it. It made me sick.

"I also appeal to foster parents not to mention the biological family in such cases. Not even during an argument with their foster child," she says.

* Name has been changed.