KARACHI, Oct 17: Every year during Ramazan various non-governmental organizations place ads in national dailies to seek alms and donations for the betterment of the under-privileged of society. However, only a handful of organizations are properly working for orphans without resorting to such advertising campaigns.
There is no way of finding out the number of children becoming orphans every year in the country, as neither government nor any NGO has bothered to work in this direction. Even the exact number of shelter homes functioning in the metropolis is not known to any government department.
Expressing ignorance about the statistics of these shelter homes in the city, a senior official of the Sindh Social Welfare Department says "we don't have these (non-governmental) organizations under our purview." Similarly the Auqaf and Ushr Department is clueless about the orphanages saying that they only deal with the mosques.
A senior official of an orphanage told Dawn that the government had banned registration of child shelter homes under the name of orphanage some 15 years back, presumably to do away with the stigma associated with the word orphanage, he added. Since then, such institutions are being registered under the societies act with the registrar office. A significant number of orphanages are associated with religious seminaries spread across the city.
One of such orphanages is that of Anjuman-i-Hayatul Islam, located at Gurumandir. Established in 1948 by Maulana Hamid Ali Qureshi, the orphanage takes care of 88 children. The institution is being run by a trust headed by its president Abul Fazal Mohammad Mubarak and general-secretary Mohammad Jameel Ahmed.
Located in the city centre the institutions is perhaps the oldest children refuge for the destitute children.
The orphanage is being run on donations given by public in addition to the alms of zakat etc. It admits children irrespective of their religion, caste or sect, said a senior official of the institution. Anjuman-i-Hayatul Islam has its branches of educational institutes in Gulshan-i-Iqbal.
Passing through Nishtar Road section starting from Lasbella Chowk to the Teen Hati traffic section one comes across an old building which houses 36 boys and 30 girls. The institution is known as Husaini Darul Atfal or better known as Husaini orphanage.
The institution, founded by the late Husain Qasim Dada in 1956, commenced its full operation in 1958. Admissions to the orphanage are restricted only for the children belonging to Memon community.
Among its trustees are its president Abu Talib Dada and secretary Yousaf Ahmed. According to them, Darul Atfal like some other institutions depends on the donations and Zakat for its day-to-day running expenditure. In F.B Area, Al Mohsin Orphanage has been caring for children for the last 25 years.
The orphanage is being run by Maulana Syed Mohammad Hussain Naqvi, son of late Maulana Mohsin Naqvi, under the patronage of the Huquqe Sharia Trust. It houses around hundred boys - all belonging to the Shia community.
Here, children are imparted formal education along with religious education. The orphanage has its own boys school up to the level of matriculation in the same premises.
"The boys are allowed to leave the institution after their matriculation, said Mr Alam Shah, a member of the trustee committee. He said that several boys had been admitted to the Delhi College due to their excellent academic record.
The institution has taken care of more than 3,000 children during the last 25 years. The orphanage depends on donations and Khums for its expenses.
Another old chain of orphanages is managed by the Khoja Ashna Ashari community funded by the Habib family.
The Hyderi hostel houses 65 boys, and two orphanages with the name of Abbas Alamdar are giving food, shelter and education to 110 boys in Gulshan-i-Iqbal. A separate hostel for girls, Zehra Home, sheltering 34 girls is also located in Gulshan-i-Iqbal. All these hostels/ orphanages are run by the management of Ghulaman-i-Abbas School.
"The children who have passed out from our hostels are leading a successful life. They contribute to the institution in the most exemplary manner. One of our students recently arranged a pilgrimage trip to the holy sites in Iran for the girls of Zehra Home", Mr Khatri said, who looks after these hostels and is also the principal of the Ghulaman-i-Abbas School.
Destitute children who have lost their parents are admitted to the hostels provided they belong to the Asna Ashari community, Mr Khatri added.
The SOS village is also considered among the established institutions taking care of the destitute children. The SOS has its branches in major cities of the country and its Karachi campus is located in Malir.
The Edhi Foundation which is also running orphanages has recently renamed them as "Home for Homeless".
Some 300 children are housed in the Edhi village, located at Super Highway. A similar number of girls stay in the New Clifton Home. About 100 boys are being provided care at Edhi Home in Korangi No. 5-1/2. The Edhi Mithadar centre takes care of some 40 children, Rizwan Edhi said.