A campaign to support abandoned children was launched here on Wednesday. The campaign under the theme “Participating in the happiness of the orphans” launched by Dr. Salma Mahrous, famous social consultant, aims to change the society's stereotype attitude toward abandoned children. The campaign aims to change the life of the abandoned children by integrating them into the society and ensuing their educational, social, and financial rights. “I have submitted the campaign's documents to Shoura Council officials three months ago. I am yet to get a response,” Dr. Mahrous said. These abandoned children are easily identified as they have not been given their family surname, she said. The Shoura Council, she said, has been approached to allow us to give these children their family names. Dr. Bandar Al-Hajar, Vice Chairman of the Shoura Council and former head of the Human Rights Commission, has confirmed on the need to study the issue of granting family names to the abandoned children. “Giving famous and known names to the abandoned children will obviously irk many Saudi families. In the past the abandoned children were given family names, but lately the Ministry of Social Affairs has stopped this procedure,” she said. “We need media support, lectures, conferences and television programs to make the community aware of the rights of these children,” added Mahrous. There has been a steady increase in the number of abandoned children. “In 2008 we had about 17,000 abandoned children in different parts of the Kingdom, mostly in Makkah and Riyadh,” said Mahrous.
