A Loving Home for Idlib’s Orphans
Hundreds of orphans in Idlib are being given a new start in life at a care home set up by the Ruhama Baynahum aid agency.
As well as the emotional damage of bereavement, children who have lost one or both parents are vulnerable to exploitation by armed groups or in the labour market.
Orphanage director Bilal Jabiru said that the institution, opened on March 20, 2016, aimed to give these disadvantaged children the love and stability to enable them to become functioning members of society.
“The number of orphans has risen rapidly as a result of the ongoing conflict and the intensifying violence,” the 39-year-old said. “In response, we mobilised our resources to provide care for orphans by giving them a decent life, medical and social care, education and psychological support for those needing it.”
The orphanage cost 29,000 US dollars to set up and has monthly running costs of 4,000 dollars. The two-floor building is currently home to 400 children who occupy five dormitories on the first floor. The second floor houses a library, a reading and activity room, a dining room and a kitchen.
“This orphanage is home to children aged 12 and under,” Jabiru explained. “In the meantime, our agency is working on setting up another orphanage for all children until they reach the age of puberty. This will be a prototype project that will hopefully be successful to enable us to roll it out across Syria.”
He added that the centre’s 13 staff members were keen to reach out to the public to explain the importance of integrating the orphans into society.
“We also hold seminars and talks to promote our experience and everything to do with organisation, care and administration. This orphanage offers children an ideal environment and provides them with everything they need be it shelter, food or clothes. There is also a bus that transports children to school which is necessary to integrate them into society. We do not want them to attend a special school as this will have a negative psychological impact.”
The care home has proved to be a lifeline for many children. Nine-year-old A’idah was brought there by her aunt after her father died and her mother remarried.
A’idah’s aunt said, “I had to go to Turkey to join my husband and children. I could not take my niece with me because she did not have a Turkish ID card. I hesitated a lot about leaving A’idah in the orphanage but I was encouraged to do so after I saw the level of care and attention given to children.”
A’idah said she was happy at the home.
“The supervisors are like mothers to us. It feels like we are in a big family where we have everything we need. We never feel bored. We get up early in the morning, have breakfast and go to school. After lunch and some rest the supervisors help us with our homework. After that we get engaged in various fun activities until the evening. Then it is dinner and bedtime.”
Staff member Um Muhammad explained that it was important for the children to follow a daily programme that included activities outside the orphanage such as cultural seminars, sports and picnics.
Staff aim to care for the children’s emotional as well as physical well being, she continued.
“I and other team members attended a psychological support training session during which we learned how to care for children who had gone through extremely hard times,” the 30-year-old said. “We also learned how to deal with various cases and personalities including those who are silent, stubborn, talkative or in poor health. We treat them all kindly and we talk to them nicely. We want to help them forget the past.
“And we treat them as children needing care and attention and we do that without any connection to their background or painful history.”
Such patient and sensitive care was essential, explained the orphanage’s counsellor Sakinah al-Umar.
“Being orphaned leaves its mark on a child’s psychological health,” the 39-year-old said. “It is a painful experience, hard for memories to overcome. Therefore, children find it difficult to acclimatise to their environment after the loss of a parent. As a result, they may resort to odd behaviour such as wanting to be on their own, preferring isolation or being distracted. That is why psychological and moral support is essential in helping young children overcome their ordeal.
“It is also paramount that individuals surrounding an orphaned child are acquainted with the problems affecting this child and are familiar with the best ways to deal with them,” he continued. “A child is the nucleus of society. Ignoring a child’s pain undermines the structure of a healthy society.”
Sometimes family members are unable to care for bereaved children.
Husam and Khalid are two brothers whose father was killed in a regime airstrike on one of the local markets in Idlib.
After his death, the boys went to live with their grandfather. But that experience did not turn out well.
“My grandfather treated us badly,” said eight-year-old Husam. “He made us feel we were a burden. He used to force us to work all day. Sometimes, he hid food from us. That is why we left and we sought refuge on the streets. We scavenged on rubbish dumps and we searched the market for leftover food.”
A staff member said that the boys were brought into the orphanage after they were found sleeping in a doorway.
They are now happy learning and playing and are given the love and care they need.
“The absence of parents is the hardest thing for a child to deal with,” Jabiru said. “So we seek to embrace these abandoned children so that they do not become fuel for the fire of this horrible war which has no respect for their childhood.
“We try to revive innocence and childhood in them. We try to bring some happiness to their little hearts, to replace sadness with innocent smiles. We hold their hand and we walk them to safety and we hope that the day will come when they arrive at a new dawn, free from tragedy and pain.”
Sonia al-Ali is the pseudonym of a Damascus Bureau contributor from Maarat al-Numan. The 33 year-old holds a BA in Arabic literature and works as a teacher. She is married with four children.
