Eid — Life at an orphanage

LAHORE: In the heart of the city is a home for the orphans. There is no mother here. There are boys of all sizes who are looked after by male superintendents and a few kindred souls who think for them and extend their services for their welfare.

Darul Shafqat Mardana, commonly known as Yateem Khana at Chowk Yateem Khana on Multan Road, is a place where children live in a close-knit community. Most of them go home on Eid, still 40 percent of them stay back.

Wonder what is Eid like for them? They have plenty of food to eat and lots of children to play with. They have clean living space. The dorms have desert coolers and clean beds. The children have a playground, and get new clothes on Eid. They play bat ball and football the most. Badminton is another sport they love. They play Frisbee and a game they have invented themselves. It is called “Gitthan tappan” they play with their hands. They use water pipes as skipping ropes. Some little boys said they have remote control cars as well. They have art class every Friday. Some of them said they love drawing.

There are 161 children at the orphanage at present and it is disconcerting to find out that there are many children who, while they do not have a father, do have a mother but it is beyond her means to support her children. A child with four siblings, is the only one to be living here. He has Vitiligo. He said he is getting treatment for it. His mother is taking care of that but the treatment is very expensive. Generally, the children did not come up with any request though The News tried to find out what they needed. Things, they have. What they need is exposure. They also need books. There isn’t a library yet with children’s books. A child Ghulam Fareed known for reading all the times, reads Imran Series because there aren’t many books. People can donate books as well.

Boys from nursery to class 3 were eager to get their names registered with their interests. Asked what they wanted to become, a number of them said they want to join the army.

The older boys who have ventured out of the orphanage and are studying in colleges have a different perspective. It is heartening to see that a dedicated social worker Farrukh Naz Sherazi is helping seven of the boys in the orphanage prepare for ACCA Foundation Diploma, which is a one-year course equivalent to I.Com. A 16-year-old preparing for this exam while he is in class 9 at the orphanage, will gain time. Yasser, top student of ACCA, is here for nine years.

There are very talented boys at Darul Shafqat like Nabeel Ahmad, who is a Jujitsu gold medalist and is preparing for national level competition. Nabeel aspires to win at Olypmics and wants foreign training to excel. Sherazi says these boys need career counselling. Good institutions should send their teachers to this place for some time if possible.