Fatima Muhammad Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — A shelter for orphans celebrated the National Day with the absence of nine boys who had to be taken to an all male shelter because of their age. Boys who are over 12 have to be segregated from the family orphanage. Samiya Al-Sulaimani, an employer at the shelter and an art trainer, said that orphans in the shelter become one family and suddenly they miss members of them which affect not only the departing orphans but also employees there. "We get to know through the staff at boys' shelter that the boys who move from here struggle psychologically and what I do to help them out is that I pay them a visit every now and then." This family oriented shelter for orphanages, located in Al-Naeem District, is unique as it has 20 villas an open yard in the middle and a dry swimming pool; each villa has a nanny that acts like the den mother. According to Al-Sulaimani this family like atmosphere is good for the orphans as it help them experience a normal life that is different from traditional shelters where dormitories are filled with beds which gives an impression of living in a prison. 'We call on the ministry of social affairs to turn all shelters to family like shelters, especially since the percentage of adoption is very low now," she said. Visiting one of these homes, a 15-year-old girl allowed Saudi Gazette into her home, and said that they feel they are just like a family who take care of each other. "If any problem happens between children the grownup girls would deal with the matter and defend their brothers and sisters." One of the main challenges that face orphans is when they have to join school. "The problem is these orphans become aggressive when they meet others. They are usually not good at schools and need a lot of care and attention," said Al-Sulaimani. All orphans need to have experienced and specialized psychologists to deal with them and give them special care and attention to help them overcome their identity struggle. For grownup girls who finish their university and get jobs, the worry is that they do not get married. "I have a proposal that I want to sent to the ministry of social affairs to help these girls out by establishing contact between different girls and boys who have been raised in the orphanage to help them get married and start their own families," said Al-Sulaimani.
So far this orphanage has over some 168 orphans; strict restrictions are implemented in the shelter, including not allowing girls out unless to schools or group gatherings organized by the orphanage, and visitors are also allowed only with permission. Families are allowed to either adopt children or they are allowed to take a child for a couple of days visit. Orphanage employees have to visit the family at home and ensure that the child will be protected before handing the child for a visit.
