Sheltering Homes
Sheikh Iraj
An orphanage is a residential facility that provides food and shelter for children who dont have parents or guardians to look after them. Such facilities are usually run by the state or non-government organisations.
Since 2014, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a grouping of 57 Muslim countries including Bangladesh, has been observing the 15th of Ramadan every year as a special day for orphan children in the Islamic world to raise awareness about their problems. The day, which fell on June 11 this year, is marked by visits to orphanages to distribute food, clothes and gifts to children, and arranging events where orphans are the guests of honour. Globally, the second Monday of November is unofficially observed as World Orphans Day.
For this week, YI spoke to people from the Department of Social Welfare and non-government organisations, and met with some orphan children and their guardians or teachers to find out more about their lives. They shared their experiences and ways they are contributing to our society as citizens of this country.
The number of orphans in our country is uncertain, said Rasatur Rahman Ruba, Programme Coordinator, Child Protection, Islamic Relief Bangladesh. Different organisations give different figures when it comes to the number of orphans in our country. According to UNICEF, it is estimated that there are about 140 million orphans worldwide. Based on different data available, we assume that there are about 4 million orphans in our country.
Abu Sayeed, 14, is a resident of SOS Childrens Village at Shyamoli in the capital. A student of class 7 at Shyamoli Ideal School, Sayeed loves to study maths and play cricket. He wants to become a cricketer when he grows up. I like cricketer Mustafizur Rahman. A few days ago, Bangladesh won the one-day cricket match against New Zealand, we all watched the match together and really enjoyed it, the boy told this correspondent.
M Jawad Anwar, 11, another resident of the Village, chipped in: We dont have school at the weekend, so we spend our time reading books or playing cricket. Anwar, whose favourite subject in school is English, added: I want to become a pilot when I grow up and my teachers inspire me by saying that I can. My teachers love me a lot, especially our religious studies teacher, Sayla Rahman. I know I would have to work really hard to become a pilot, but I am ready to put in all the hard work.
Iffar Ara, 26, is a teacher and former resident of SOS Childrens Village. She teaches English at Red Sun Pre-School, alongside doing her MA in Child Development and Social Relation from the National College of Home Economics. I chose to study this subject because I want to work with children in future. I was one-and-a-half years old when I was brought here. People of this organisation are my family. During the holidays, I come here and spend time with them. I never felt different from any other children because my teachers here never left any of my wishes unfulfilled. I stayed here till I graduated from high school. Now, whatever I earn, after paying my own expenses, I donate the rest of the money here. I hope to work with some international organisation some day, she said.
AKM Azizur Rahman, Director, SOS Childrens Village, Dhaka, told YI: We are an independent development organisation. We work with child rights. We have different kinds of networks from where we receive information about orphans. Any orphan, aged 0 to 13, can get admitted to SOS Childrens Village, no matter what religion or background they are from. Right now, there are 175 residents living here, or somehow directly connected with our organisation. Our services can be divided into different segments, like family-based care, health, education, physiological integration and follow-up monitoring. With permission from us, biological relatives can come to visit the children. Due to security reasons, we dont always allow the children to go out with their relatives.
The director said there are separate residential facilities for boys and girls at the Childrens Village. The residents there get to eat a balanced diet and there is a part-time teacher who helps them with their studies. The children also love to play cricket and basketball.
Our orphanage cannot be compared to other orphanages. Members of our establishment become part of our family and life. Orphans here get full support until they are 13 years of age. After that age, they are moved to youth centres. After they reach 18, if they want to continue with their studies, we bear their educational costs and other expenses as well. In a way, we try to support them throughout their life. Many of the orphans here have made it big in life and they come to visit us from time to time. We have different projects like Children Villages, Youth Villages, SOS Hermann Gmeiner School and College, SOS Fund Project, etc, Rahman added.
Hermann Gmeiner was an Austrian child welfare worker. He founded SOS Childrens Village International in 1949 after witnessing the plight of thousands of children who were left orphaned by the Second World War.
SOS Childrens Village and SOS Youth Village in Dhaka recently celebrated International SOS Childrens Village Day to honour friends and supporters. A special event of the three-day celebrations was presenting Promising Young Adults awards to former residents Abu Taher and Tasminah Rafiq, adds a press release. Taher completed MSc in Clinical Psychology from Dhaka University and he is now working at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, while Rafiq obtained post-graduation degree in English from National University and is serving as an online teacher at JAGO Foundation.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Fazle Rabbi Miah, who was present as chief guest at the event on June 21, said: I have visited two families of SOS Childrens Village Dhaka. I talked to SOS Mothers and management and saw the childrens attachment (to them). A clear understanding has been embodied in my mind that SOS Childrens Village is doing unique work for the betterment of the children who have lost parental care. Hermann Gmeiners unparalleled work has always been a source of inspiration, which drives our endeavours of providing every abandoned child a home.
Monir Hossain is a former resident of Sharkari Shishu Paribar, a state-run childrens home in Mirpur. I was eight years old when I came here. My father died in a road accident, and my mother had no other way but to send me and my younger brother to the Shishu Paribar. I never regret the fact that I grew up there. I passed HSC (higher secondary certificate) from Dhaka College and I had to study really hard. Then some people helped me financially to take admission at Dhaka University. Right now, I am studying Islamic Studies and I hope to become a civil service officer, he said.
I have gone through much pain and hardship in my life, and I feel that if I could find success in life, then everyone else can find it too. I know about the struggles an orphan has to go through and that is why I want to work with orphans in the future. At the moment, I am also working as a tutor to bear my expenses, as I do not get any financial help from the government anymore, Hossain added.
Nasima Begum is a deputy superintendent at the Sharkari Shishu Paribar in Mirpur, which is under the Department of Social Welfare. She told YI: Our children are very talented. I have seen many of our residents find immense success in life. In our facility, children grow up under strict supervision, because we want them to be successful in life. We normally admit our children to schools which are close to our centre. Recently, we helped one of our boys to get admitted to Dhaka University. He was quite bright, but for lack of money, he could not get into university.
M Baqui Billah Arefahan, technical instructor at the Department of Social Welfare, told YI: We do not call our institutions orphanages, rather we call them Shishu Paribar (childrens family). There are 85 such facilities across the country. According to our law, those who do not have a father or both parents are orphans. After getting proper permission from the authorities, relatives of the children can come to visit them, and sometimes take them for a vacation. Nevertheless, we give importance to security and we may not always permit relatives to visit or take the children out.
We have the capacity to accommodate more than 1,300 orphans and whenever there is a vacancy, we inform the public through different media outlets. Any (orphaned) child aged 6 to 18 can stay in these state orphanages. Many of the boys and girls who were with us have become quite successful in life. They are working in various fields. Some of them are police officers, government officials, doctors, etc, said Arefahan. Both boys and girls have different residential facilities. For a single child, we spend Taka 2,600 per month. This amount of money makes sure he or she gets a proper balanced diet, education, clothes, and other necessities. Many years ago, the process of adopting these children was open, now that system is closed. We get news about orphans from various sources, for example, from relatives or neighbours. In our Shishu Paribars, anyone from any religion or background can stay. For children under six years old, there are separate baby homes, he added.
Photos: Courtesy
