Hazrat Bibi Fatema (as) Orphanage - Kabul

Background

Afghanistan remains one of the poorest countries in the world, with an economy that relies greatly on international aid. A steady influx of returning refugees and severe economic problems means the government is unable to cater to the basic needs of its citizens. A vast majority of the population continue to suffer from insufficient food and the infrastructure is in ruins. Afghanistan has one of the highest rates of illiteracy in the world with 69% of the population being illiterate.

Decades of wars and political unrest has left not only the economy in shambles but also countless orphans. There are an estimated 2M orphans in the country and we are only marginally aware of the hardship that they have gone through, let alone what the future holds for them. Many of these children have a burning desire to learn, to go to school but for many this is simply a faraway dream. It is an expensive dream as they simply cannot afford to go to school as many have to go and earn money to feed themselves and, in some cases, their widowed mothers.

Overview

Herat, Ghazni, Kabul and Balkh are provinces amongst the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. These areas of Afghanistan are prominently populated by Jaffaris and a lot of bloodshed by the Taliban has taken place to eradicate them which has resulted in majority of the families being widowed and orphaned.

Hazrate Bibi Fatema Orphanage Kabul

In order to support orphans from this destitute situation, we have rented a 3-room building in Kabul with a monthly rent of 15,000 Afghani Rupees from which we run a day orphanage for 100 orphans. These orphans were chosen from a list of 3,000 orphans. The selection was based on the urgency of need. The ages of these orphans range from 6 to 15 year olds from both genders.

Services provided in the Orphanage

These poor orphans have neither of their parents and they are desperately looking for someone who can give them a better foundation and hope of a better future.

We want to deploy schooling under the national curriculum in combination with Islamic Studies in which the orphans will sit two national exams per grade. Currently, due to lack of funding, we have opened a day orphanage that provides learning for the following subjects: –

Islamiyat
Ahkaam
Aqaid
Farsi
Pashtu
Quran
English

These subjects are taught by 3 teachers:

Syed Farishta, Sister Khatira and Syed Jawad

The orphanage also hires an administrator/ manager Syed Parvana Sadat as well as a security guard Syed Khalil.

A total of 5 staff being hired by the orphanage currently which costs 46,000 Afghani Rupees.

Ideally, we wish to build a purpose-built orphanage for the orphans to leave there so that we can provide them with all the care and education. This is of course once we are able to gather enough resources to be able to buy a land and afford the construction costs.

It is vital that we strive to provide a decent living and learning environment so that the orphans feel that they are getting a real chance in securing a better future. It is our Islamic duty to treat orphans as we would want to have our children, our grandchildren treated and not as lesser citizens of society. The orphans are already at a disadvantaged start in life and wherever possible we should help them to minimise or erode the disadvantages that they face.

Cost for Orphan Support

The current cost to support an orphan equates to $56.00 / £40.00 / €47.00 per month which is the equivalent of $1.87 / £1.33 / €1.57 per day. This comprises of

Salaries for 5 staff
A well balanced and nutritious meal (meat, vegetables, rice, fruit)
Islamic Studies and languages
Clothing (three times a year)
Shoes and schoolbag
Annual physical/mental check-up together with medical support as and when necessary, including vaccinations and medications. This is a vital necessity as the orphans are exposed to so much trauma from a very young age.

These cost per annum per orphan is $672.00 per annum per orphan.

Impact of establishing orphanages

Empowering a generation to better themselves and so enabling them to support their own community
The gift of education cannot be over-emphasised as it gives the children the basic foundation for life empowering them to the possibilities and opportunities available to them
When these children are educated, they will be able to better understand their immediate and social environment as well as become society contributors by actively contribute to the rehabilitation of their community and country at large
Participating and learning opens the children to various opportunities and broadens their horizon
It is our responsibility both as human beings and especially as Muslims to remember these poor children who have been put in this situation through no fault of theirs

It only costs $1.87 per day to give an orphan a better chance in life and therefore a brighter future for each one of them.

Impact if no orphanages are availed

Orphans are used for sexual exploitation and trafficking
They are temporarily provided with food and accommodation and trained as human bombs by the Taliban
Exploited to become dancers and provide entertainment
Their organs are sold to the highest bidders overseas

We hope that you will support these orphans and pray that the Almighty grants you and your family a long and healthy life and provides you amply in both worlds.