Children are the future of society. To have a responsible and wise society, it is important to provide them with all the love, care, and support. And the responsibility to provide all of this lies mainly with their parents, but imagine this child who was born to some parents but COVID19 or cancer or Dengue or an accident has robbed them of their mother or father or both. The child does not know who they are, where they belong, no one to look after them or comfort them or give them love. The child suddenly has to struggle. Struggle for everything which is so very basic for all of us, for food, clothes, education, toys, love, care, shelter and protection and so much more that we take for granted.

The children who we call ‘orphans’, because of their struggle often have high levels of malnutrition, lack of primary education, and are highly prone to vaccine-preventable diseases. And we should also not forget the absence of parental love, psychological and emotional support, which challenges their personality development and the foundation of affection in them.

As per UNICEF, India is home to nearly 30 million* orphans which is the highest in any country.  The figure has increased post-COVID-19 pandemic under which around 1.36 Lakh children have lost either of their parents (January 2022 report by NCPCR).

Such children are highly dependent on others to fulfill their basic needs otherwise; they end up fetching for themselves and fall into the traps of Child labor, human trafficking, and prostitution.

Considering this critical scenario, the Orphan Care Program at Human Welfare Foundation aims to address the primary needs of the children who are greatly in need of care and protection. We have been thriving to improve the quality of life of children who have lost either or both parents in a holistic way since 2009.

Our Orphan Care programme is dedicated to providing quality assistance for orphans regardless of their religion, creed or gender. It also strives to ensure orphans receive the basic necessities of life – providing them with food, clean water, regular medical check-ups and education.

Most of the orphanages in the country are poor in infrastructure.  Across reports submitted to the government, poor lighting, cramped accommodation, regular violence as a means of discipline instead of proper child behavior methods are just some examples of poor infrastructure at orphanages.  HWF’s Orphan Care focuses on construction of Orphanages providing safe and secure shelter for orphans.

So, far we have constructed/supported 7 orphanages in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Goa. Three orphanages are under construction- one in Rajasthan and two in Haryana.

The Scholarship distribution is one of the highlights of the Orphan Care Program run by HWF. HWF provides scholarships to orphan beneficiaries on a quarterly basis. We try to ensure that the amount is primarily spent on their education and allied needs.

During 2021-22, we have released scholarships to the beneficiaries by organizing more than 20 distribution programs. The majority of the beneficiaries belong to Assam, Tripura, and Uttar Pradesh including the 18 states where the program is currently running.