By Rojina Kandel
“Orphanage is a home for children whose parents are dead or unable to care for them.” The best place for a child to grow and be fostered is obviously his/her home but if the child is homeless and has no parents, then he/she is sent to an orphanage for his\her growth and survival too. Childhood is one of the most important phases in a human being’s life where he\she learns about himself or herself and of course, he\she discovers what really is this society stands for. Basically, most orphanages are built with the core principle of providing a hygienic and sound environment for those children who are really in need of fulfilling the basic needs of their life such as food, shelter and clothes. But this only doesn’t complete proper care for orphans in an orphanage hence they provide education also to those children who reside in the orphanage. As education provides critical opportunities for personal growth and development; understanding how orphaned children access schooling sheds light on support systems available to this vulnerable population.
Even though, they may face extra challenges in accessing education; orphans do attend school in most countries. According to UNICEF, there are approximately 153 million orphans worldwide. It’s a fact that orphaned children are less likely to attend school compared to their non-orphaned peers and this discrepancy is due to a variety of factors, including poverty, lack of support systems, and discrimination. Orphaned children who live with extended family members or guardians may have a higher likelihood of attending school compared to those living in orphanages.
Talking about the health issues of the orphans; many orphaned children have experienced the loss of their parents due to illness or other tragic circumstances which can result in physical and emotional trauma and also may impede their learning and overall well-being. However, it’s an important reality that, even though orphans are rendered with various educational and vocational skills inside of the orphanages, the children residing in an orphanage should be made ready for life outside of the institution before they leave it, so that, they do not get hurt, confused, commit a crime and get in trouble. Hence, it’s very important to introduce them to the outside world and its difficulties step by step.
In recent days, orphanages have closed and children are being placed in biological and foster families. But one key factor that needs to be considered is that, before placing children in families, parents need to be taught on right communication with the child. The family must first be morally prepared to be able to pass on their upbringing to the child without hurting or insulting his values. Most of the children from orphanages are lonely, they lack love and affection, not only from relatives but also from the people around them. And yes, children in orphanages are hungry for parental love; hence orphanages should take this into consideration for the overall welfare of orphans.
It’s a well-known fact that orphanages do address the needs of orphans but there are some sectors(like creating a more homely environment and giving love in pure form) of orphans life which needs to be addressed by such institutions.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect People’s Review’s editorial stance.
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