Homing the orphans

Aghosh provides necessities of life to abandoned children

Islamabad: Orphanage houses under the name of Aghosh by Alkhidmat Foundation are working exceptionally well across the country and the current project of Aghosh is also providing quality education and boarding facilities to around 1,500 orphan children in its 20 orphanage houses.

Meanwhile, six more orphanage houses are being constructed which would take the tally of the orphanage houses to 26 under the same project.

The children with lodging facilities are also given quality medical treatment besides psychological assistance. Through psychological assistance, the management gets an assessment of the natural aptitude of the children. The children are not pressurised to select particular subjects in secondary and higher secondary classes. The psychological therapy being provided to them helps them to get what they want in their academic process.

Sheikh Ahsan Farid who is the head of the National Programme, Aghosh Home, told Bol News that currently, 1,512 orphan children are living in 20 Aghosh Homes.

Here it is pertinent to mention that the project Aghosh was first launched in 2005 in Attock after the devastation caused by massive earthquakes in Kashmir and Hazara.

Afterwards, more orphanage houses were constructed by the Alkhidmat Foundation. Currently, there are around 400 children who are lodging and getting education in this centre. There are two orphanage houses which are functional in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The orphanage centre in Rawalpindi is functioning at High Court Society while the orphanage home of Islamabad is giving its services to orphan children at Soan Garden

Farid said more orphanage houses are being constructed keeping in view the requirement. Accordingly, an orphanage house is being constructed in Buner, another in North Waziristan and one in Bhera.

He said there is a department in Alkhidmat Foundation which solely oversees the construction of orphanage houses and three months before making them functional hands over its management to the National Programme Aghosh Home.

“Most of the orphanage houses are for boys while there are two exclusively for orphan girls. The centres situated in Islamabad and Sheikhupura are taking care of orphan girls,” Farid further stated.

According to him, 150 orphan girls are being provided boarding, schooling and other facilities at both these centres.

He said that the students of Aghosh had been excelling in different areas including medical, engineering and other professions. A student also managed to get admission to a medical college in Peshawar and now he is working as a doctor at a hospital after doing his MBBS. “There are some students of ours who have joined Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in different capacities and now they are serving the nation,” he added.

While elaborating on the criteria for admitting children in Aghosh Homes, he said that the child should be an orphan and must be five to eight years old.

He informed that the Aghosh Muree had been declared as the Centre of Excellence providing education up to F.Sc in both pre-engineering and pre-medical.

He said, “You can say only the cream of all Aghosh Homes is provided quality education at our campus at Murree where only the position holders are provided admission and those  who want to get higher education are facilitated under ‘Alflah Scholarship.’ These children are facilitated at the orphanage houses till they pass F.Sc or they reach the age of 18 years, whichever comes first, he further explains.

According to him, the project has hired the services of psychologists of repute who visit the centres regularly.

Replying to a question he said, on every Sunday, the legal heirs of the children can visit them at the facility.

According to him, the expenses of these houses are met through donations. He said around Rs180,000 per annum expenses occur for taking care of each child at the orphanage houses.