“The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: ‘I and the one who looks after an orphan will be like this in Paradise,’ showing his middle and index fingers and separating them.” (Bukhari)
Afghanistan has suffered from war and conflict for over 40 years! As the population emerges from the longest war in modern history, they now face the difficult task of rebuilding their lives. Hardest hit are those families who have lost the main breadwinner, the father and pillar of support. Mothers are left alone with multiple children with no income or support.
There are over 1.6 million orphans in Afghanistan!
The Muadh ibn Jabal Welfare trust team in Afghanistan has been visiting the homes of orphans and have described the situation in many of these homes as dire. A mother with her four children living in one room with no food except borrowed bread from a relative for months. An elderly grandfather who lost four of his sons and now cares for his wife, four widowed daughter-in-laws and his grandchildren alone (29 dependents). Zayd and his five siblings are orphans. Zayd was born with bladder exstrophy, which requires multiple surgeries, however, he still has not been treated. The list goes on….
Child labour is widespread, with a large proportion of children having to work, some repairing roads and some hiding under trucks to cross the border into neighbouring countries in order to make a couple of dollars a day. Unable to go to school due to work, many children are illiterate. Exposed to exploitation, orphan children are sold into slavery, suffer from addiction to narcotics in addition to malnutrition and other health concerns.
Muadh ibn Jabal Welfare Trust has identified opportunities to support orphans and their families. Our programmes shall إن شاء الله enable our orphans to gain an education, improve their quality of life and lift them out of poverty. Click here to donate to our orphan sponsorship projects.