The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “I and the person who looks after an orphan and provides for him, will be in Paradise like this,” putting his index and middle fingers together.
Orphan Sponsorship Program Making a Difference Worldwide!
The deafening explosions, the clouds of dust, and the wounded bodies scattered on the ground cause a split second of disturbance. The very next moment, the scene shifts to a remote village where the sight of malnourished and disease-afflicted people and armies of flies buzzing around their bodies causes another brief moment of pity. The scene switches again. Flashes of images continuously appear and disappear until something pleasant becomes visible, and the remote control finally rests. The spectator sitting before the television feels relieved as he/she pushes away from sight the most “clichéd” images that penetrate our lives every day. Allow me to confess that I can easily identify with this spectator. Our hectic schedules and our own predicaments in life often create within us an indifferent attitude towards the countless victims of war, poverty, natural disaster and disease all over the globe. The feelings of grief that are felt are often temporary, as we possess the liberty to flip the channel or discard the newspaper at any time. We tend to live within the illusion that the events are so distant from us in both geographical and political terms, that we and our lives bear little to no relevance to them. Therefore, we often do not feel that we have an enormous responsibility towards the victims, especially the children. It is no surprise that those victimized the most in these tragic events are the children who lose their parents, their sole string of support in the midst of their already difficult conditions. It is the orphans that are left bearing the crushing burden of poverty and hunger, and the responsibility 26 THE MUSLIM VOICE
of looking after younger siblings. The UNICEF fact sheet for 2004 estimates that by the end of 2003, there were 143 million orphans aged 0-17 in 93 developing countries. More than 16 million were orphaned in 2003 alone. Due to recent disaster such as Tsunamis, earthquakes, war and the AIDS-related crisis in Africa, the numbers are continuously on the rise. Putting things in perspective therefore, allows us to reassess the magnitude of our own problems. It also enables us to consider our duties towards the children and to recognize ourselves as potential activists and helpers who can very easily contribute to the improvement of an orphan’s life. In 2003, a volunteer student initiative was launched at the University of Toronto known as the Orphan Sponsorship Program (OSP), with the aim of bringing awareness to the situation of orphans around the world and raise funds to sponsor orphans. Since then, OSP’s achievements have been remarkable: This past year alone (2007-2008) they raised over $60,000, masha’Allah (God has willed it). Accumulatively, in almost 5 years of OSP’s existence, more than $205,000 has been raised. They are regularly sponsoring via recognized and registered charities, 120 orphans from over 17 different countries, spanning 4 continents. All donations received by the OSP are used to sponsor the orphans, with the OSP at UofT not taking any administrative charges. All their expenses are covered by student funding and other initiatives such as bake
sales. Donation covers education, health, food, shelter and other basic necessities for the orphans. As the Founder of OSP, Dr. Farhan Asrar, currently a resident physician and the Head Coordinator of OSP for the past 5 years, said: “The Orphan Sponsorship Program is a prime example among many others that show us the positive difference that students can make in today’s society and in the lives of others. Our achievements is truly a blessing, at the same time it is a challenge as every year, we need to raise enough to sponsor 120 (and hopefully, even more) orphans annually. However, with the continued help of our community, we will continue to make a positive difference in the lives of orphans year after year.” The OSP at UofT is unique among student groups since its pursuits are ongoing. Unlike many student-organized fundraising initiatives that are usually short-term events, the OSP has been able to help many orphans since its inception and continues to do so regularly on an annual basis. They sponsor orphans from a wide range of geographical areas such as the tsunami-affected Indonesia and Sri Lanka, countries shaken by earthquakes such as Pakistan and Kashmir, conflict and war-torn regions such as Afghanistan, the Middle East, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Kenya and many others. The versatility and activities of OSP are encouragement and student groups and
sincerity in the reflected in their aiding of other committees from