Donna is a 5-year-old girl with big medical issues. She was born with them. Her 21-year-old mum is a junky and sells her body to make ends meet and to get the next fix. Her teenage father is on his sixth term in prison. He has a history of violence, theft and of course selling drugs. Donna is withdrawn and silent, finds it hard to attach to anyone and whenever there is someone new in the room she goes into a corner and makes herself as small as possible. It's her survival mechanism at work.

Mark and Sarah are married and have two children of their own. After having fostered her older sister, they are now also looking after Donna who is under a care order. For the last two years, they have been waiting for them to be recognised as her foster parents too. It's not the first time they've been threatened. At first, she would break their furniture too and scream and beg for her to go back to her mummy. They've had many sleepless nights and countless visits to specialists. They've seen gradual progress in her but even their own natural children have had to put up with much in this massive endeavour. For every three steps forward there have always been two back. But Donna is making progress, and for Mark, Sarah and the social workers that makes it all worthwhile.

John Role comes from a special and dedicated breed. He has a super natural love inside him. You have to have just one criteria above all else to work in such an area as fostering and adoption. You do it because you love the children and the difference that you can make, even if it often means taking the work home with you and working many extra hours if not days for free. You certainly do not do it for the money, the thank yous or to further your career. You do it because you just want to and you know that you can make a difference, even when facing what seem to be insurmountable odds and constant back stabbing, and of course the ever present hidden agendas. Sure you can be trained and you can gain experience. But unless you have infinite love inside you, enough to give to others, you will soon find that this is just not the career for you.

For those who have touched 'the system', John's removal from his post at Agenzija Appogg last week was long in the coming and no surprise at all. Those who did not know him, however, have by now found out that John Role's name and fostering are synonymous. It was he who pioneered fostering in Malta, he who became a cornerstone to many seeking help.

Fostering parents, natural parents, foster carers, fostered children and many social workers are all directly indebted to a man who sacrificed much on a personal level while keeping a single rationale in his mind: the children's best interest at their most vulnerable time.

But although most involved in the whole "bureaucratic and legal side" do their utmost, the reality of the present 'system' is simply not adequate. Not up to scratch. And, unless something is done immediately, it will become nothing but a bureaucratic monster instead of the proper social service that it is meant to be.

The work conditions are not ideal - absurd even - for the social workers and others who are often simply drowning under their workloads. As poverty in Malta grows, so do the case reports on vulnerable children. The present law does not help either. Regrettably, there are also too many blatant abuses and even potential legal loopholes which surely much be taken seriously, investigated and corrected. There is simply no valid excuse that anyone can come up with any more. Not fixing the problems now will just make the problems worse later.

Changes in the law and practices have been promised but have not yet materialised. The last time I saw a draft of the proposed amendments in the law, it was a vast improvement of what we have at present. But, I fear, it still is clearly not enough. Much, much more can be done and if not now, if not before the new law is enacted, then when?

Part of the job description of a board in these circumstances is not only to look at the case studies and approve/disapprove adoptions or fostering, it is also duty bound to come up with suggestions to improve the present system. When you see so many reports and have direct contact with social workers and prospective parents, you pick up on both the good habits as well as the bad ones, so it is a natural place to pick up on issues that need addressing.

As chairman of the Adoptions Board and as a member of the fostering board, I remember that both boards had come up with many valid suggestions for improvements. How many of these have been picked up and implemented since they were reported, including flaws in the present law and the practices being used?

Is the proper procedure of first vetting and then approving Prospective Foster Parents (PFPs) and then placing a child in their care always followed, or do years pass before PFPs are approved or not?

If there are not enough PFPs to host all present cases, does that mean that we take potential risks with children in a management-by-crisis style, or should we not have thrown more money at the problem to create more courses, more education, a more secure and more PFP's who are properly trained and ready to host these children with the right support system in place?

Are the laws putting the children first when a child goes back to his/her biological family where they encountered serious issues and then return to the foster parents, having reverted to a bad state once more? Who is there to pick up the pieces if not the foster parents and people like John who must get so frustrated seeing years of work destroyed and the children suffering once more?

It's so easy to blame the natural parents, but often in such cases, the natural parents are simply passing on what they have gone through themselves to their own children. They know no different. What mechanism should there be in place to first help the parents with their issues and then support and educate them on proper parenting skills? It's not just a matter of having new laws which may not be enforceable at the end of the day. It is not about using the introduction of these laws as another photo opportunity to be seen to have done something to solve the real, present issues.

It is about ensuring that no matter what, the child's best interest comes first.

To me, John, Mark and Sarah are the real-life super-heroes, as are all the foster parents who selflessly give so much. One cannot start to thank them enough nor imagine the huge sacrifices they personally make when accepting to foster children who come with seriously heavy baggage. The many serious consequences and dangers encountered will hopefully be turned into the priceless reward of giving a child the only thing they really yearn for: stability and love. If you have the same power inside you then you should consider contacting John and his team very soon. There are great kids who need you right now.

Last week, the people spoke most clearly, John. As in the past, they have put their total faith in you and you did not let them down. You have already shown that you have a supernatural power within you when it comes to defending children's rights. Know therefore that you have a whole army behind you, who also want the best for these children and that it will rise up once more if necessary.

I have no doubt that you will rely on the same inner strength that has kept you going in the past, the strength that built up all that you set out to do and will now overcome the new hurdles that will no doubt be thrown at you. Stay strong, as the results will, as always, be all well worth it.

After all, the child's best interest comes first and above all else - always!