It was a stormy night, and hopeless voices wailed in the air. Nobody came out to see the wailers. Doors were locked and windows banged.
The sky rumbled for rainfall; thunder struck and lightning fell on roofs; a heavy downpour came, but the voices echoed endlessly. Who could they be? A little child asked.
The child opened the windows to see the wailers; she cried as she saw the inscriptions on the wailers’ shirts: “We are orphans; we need help.”
No child wishes to be an orphan; it is a condition filled with trauma and deprivation. Experience shows that the pains of losing both parents last longer than death.
Also, no parent wishes to leave their child or children in a condition so desolate and pathetic as this. Orphans cry about the loss of their parents and also worry about a hopeless future filled with fear and rejection.
An orphan is a child who has lost both parents and, to some extent, lacks support, care, and supervision. Negative notions about orphans reveal that they are seen as a group of individuals whom people show less concern about their well-being; what they eat, what they wear, drink, and even where they sleep.
These groups of individuals are trapped with many emotional and physical challenges like loneliness, anger, abandonment, worthlessness, strife, low self-esteem, insecurity, rejection, and loss of identity.
It is a great error in society that some parents stop their children from associating with orphans because they feel orphans are inferior humans or do not belong to this part of the world.
Some tribes regard orphans as second-class citizens of the community whose ideas and contributions are not accepted.
They are considered individuals who eat decayed meals, stay awake at night for chores, wash the caregiver’s car and attend to laundry daily. They rush to the market to buy food items, prepare food, and walk the streets hawking their caregiver’s products.
Orphans need care, love, attention, and much more from society. Being an orphan is not by choice but by circumstance. Every child, particularly orphans, needs attention and support.
Caring for orphans and nurturing them with basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing is paramount.
It is an uninterrupted truism that education is the key to success; a quality education improves the likelihood of them becoming positive members of the community, and this would change narratives from being vulnerable to resilient citizens.
We have seen successful and influential orphans who are heads of notable organisations and companies around the world. So, being an orphan does not limit or hinder success.
Orphans are still part of us; they need more love from society. Society should accept them, embrace them, feed them, love them, care for them, and see them as full citizens. All orphans need is to be loved, cared for, and given due attention just the way they are.
They are humans and deserve to be treated without isolation. A gentle reminder would say, “Everybody needs everybody,” and no solution is greater than love.
