As a child, your parents are your sanctuary, so losing them can make you feel scared, alone, and vulnerable. This is something that not many of us are unfortunate enough to experience, yet it’s the sad reality for 153 million children across the globe. In fact, there are 4.5 million orphaned children in Bangladesh alone, which equates to one third of all Bangladeshi children. As a result, ILM is dedicated to helping orphaned children globally, working to give them a better chance at life.
In the absence of a nurturing family, orphaned children in the communities we work with often find themselves without the most basic of necessities. Parentless children are more likely to go without clean water, food, shelter, clothing, medical care, and education. Not only does this expose them to deathly illnesses, but also forced labour, trafficking, and exploitation. We’re making it our mission to reach every orphaned child in need, but we need your donations to make this dream a reality.
Farhana is one of the many orphaned children that we work with in Bangladesh. She’s just five years old and lost her father to illness when she was only four months old. As a result, Farhana and her mother were abandoned and, due to the lack of women’s rights in Bangladesh, they were left with nothing. Farhana’s mother was not entitled to live in the dwelling that was once considered home since the property was owned by her deceased husband. She was unable to work since Farhana could only just about hold her head up. Even if she was in a position to work, the limited employment opportunities for women would mean that she’d have to accept an exploitative job with a pittance of a wage.
Farhana and her mother soon found themselves in a substandard shelter without access to clean water and food. Due to the lack of nourishment that Farhana’s mother was receiving, her breastmilk was sparse, meaning that Farhana was malnourished, too. Farhana would inconsolably cry from the discomfort of being so cold and the pain of being hungry. Her mother wouldn’t know what to do and was exhausted from limited sleep, meagre food and water intake, as well as cold and uncomfortable living conditions. She was racked with worry about what she was to do when Farhana reached school age, as education didn’t seem like an attainable option.
However, your donations to our appeal for orphaned children allowed us to step in and create a safe home and aid Farhana in securing a future. Farhana and her mother now receive food parcels filled with essentials to keep them nourished. A water pump has been installed within walking distance from their living quarters, meaning that they’re able to access clean water. Additionally, Farhana now attends one of the free schools that we have in operation in Bangladesh. Thanks to your donations, we have saved Farhana from the dreaded fate of exploitation, trafficking, and forced labour.
Prior to our programme reaching her, Farhana was likely never asked many questions revolving around her wellbeing. These include, how are you feeling? What can we do to support you? What would you like your future to hold?
Here at ILM, we run programmes for orphaned children across Pakistan, Malawi, Kashmir, Egypt, Burma, and Bangladesh. We aim to work with as many orphaned children as we can, with the end goal of reaching every child in need of support. Though this may seem ambitious, we’ll never stop striving for this. Despite this, we need your support to make this happen.
The most important aspects of being a child are learning and developing, and we want to give all orphaned children a platform to do this. Childhood should be a time of freedom and play, and we want to ensure that no child is tormented by worry and anxiety. Whether this is about where they’ll lay their head each night, where their next meal is coming from, or how they’ll secure a future for themselves, we strive to eradicate these fears.
You can play a part in our mission by contributing to our appeal for aiding orphaned children. These little ones need your support so that they can lead a quality life and break the cycle of parentless children caused by poverty. Your donations make the world of difference to thousands of children in need.
We’re a UK registered charity dedicated to supporting struggling communities worldwide. By confronting poverty at its root, we can improve access to education for orphans, as well as creating a better quality of life. We strive to raise awareness about the needs of our project participants, share our key principles, take accountability, and be transparent about our goals and what we need to do to reach them. Alongside orphaned childcare, we also provide disaster and emergency relief, healthcare, clean drinking water, and education.
Donate to ILM today to transform the lives of struggling people in the communities we work with.
