It is high time that the state puts more resources into the services offered to children who are facing difficulties in their living environment, the children’s rights NGO “Celebrities for Kids” said.

It said in a statement that a number of Maltese children are experiencing the hard side of life from a young age.

There are children who have been abandoned to fend for themselves by their families. Others are orphaned at a young age and others are abused by members of their own families.

Some, partly due to their difficult upbringing, end up on the wrong side of the law.

There should be a shelter or home where such children can live out their childhood with all their rights, like other, more fortunate children.

Although the church has done sterling work in this field and the government has two children’s homes – Dar Fejda and Dar Jeanne Antide, these are not enough.

An NGO working in this sector has had to recently withdraw its hosting services and unless the government acts decisively it will be failing innocent children who have no one to speak in their stead.

“Celebrities for Kids” urged the government to take immidiate action to address this problem. It also called on civil society to contribute in looking after the rights and intersts of children.