At this very moment, hundreds of millions of young souls across the globe are withering and wailing in despair, finding no solace, no comfort, and no guardians to oversee them. Countless underprivileged orphans, abandoned and exploited, lead a life of solitude and helplessness, no one to guide them. For them, food is scarce and any shelter is only temporary. Street children without a home or any caretakers are subjected to abuse on a regular basis.
Exploitive, perverse crooks only wait for young, innocent, hungry children to stumble into their trap so they can be taken advantage of. Deprived of love, affection, and basic resources for survival, they find themselves unable to seek hope for a better tomorrow.
Providing a “better tomorrow” for helpless and underprivileged orphans across the world is the aim of the innovative and heartwarming “World Orphan Day 2017.” Organized by the renowned World Orphan Centre (WOC), this day motivates citizens to help the orphaned children suffering from poverty and maltreatment. On the morning of April 20, numerous participants, volunteers, speakers, and orphans gathered cordially at Anika Community Centre, Chittagong, to join in the promotion of this glorious and inspiring message. In a nutshell, World Orphan Day can be described as a day for charity and the beginning of a better job for society.
A wonderful and energizing rally took place, as a vigorous crowd of participants of World Orphan Day took to the streets. An enormous and attention-grabbing banner bearing the name of the event and the message of “Our Kids, Our Future” was placed at the forefront, as the crowd took strides across the city. One clear, bold message was proclaimed that day: we will not ignore the abuse of orphans across the world. The rally spread the message of hope and encouragement to promote the rights and well-being of underprivileged children.
WOC awarded five extraordinary figures and families for their immense contribution to making a better tomorrow for orphans.
Soborno Isaac Bari, the brilliant child prodigy known as “Little Einstein”, served as the Goodwill Ambassador of World Orphan Day. In a letter to Mr. Aman Ullah, the young but incredible Soborno articulately described his faith that “we can create homes for the homeless, and love the orphans, and one day—we shall overcome. This faith can give us courage to face uncertainties of the future. It will give our tired feet new strength as we continue our forward stride towards a city of hope where all orphans can dream to become the next Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein.”
Keep in mind World Orphan Day’s apt and wonderful slogan—“Our Kids, Our Future.” This slogan reflects the reality that when we are helping young orphaned kids succeed, we are also helping our nation and our world makes progress. We are giving young children an opportunity to shine, and a platform for success in the real world. This platform, if utilized properly, will help establish a better tomorrow for us all. And, for that reason, we shall think of abused orphan kids as our very own kids—for they will be among the next generation of citizens brightening our world.
A very active volunteer team of WOC’s Volunteers wing called Awesome Volunteers (AV) and Young Awesome Volunteers (YAV) managed every activity of this program from feeding to hospitality.
This year WOC tried to reach about 180 countries to observe World Orphans Day. 14 visionary features marked WOC’s approach. These are: delicious food, toys, clothes, educational materials, assurance of legal support, tips for life and health skills, inspiring speeches, spending quality time and selfies, apprenticeship materials to make them skilled, coding for orphans, language development program, take care of orphan centers/ orphanages/ shelter houses, encouraging sponsors to focus on underprivileged children and will encourage adoption.
WOC is now planning for a big project called “Coding for Kids” as an apprenticeship for orphans and underprivileged kids.
Adeeb Chowdhury is a student of Class 9 at William Carey Academy and Volunteer of WOC
