The International Islamic Relief Organization-Saudi Arabia (IIROSA) is sponsoring more than 133,000 male and female orphans in Saudi Arabia and more than 92,000 in several other countries, Dr. Adnan Khalil Basha, Secretary General of the organization, said on Sunday. “We are exerting efforts to raise this number to a quarter of a million,” he told Saudi Gazette. Dr. Basha also said the organization has established 23 shelter homes for orphans, consisting of 12 in Asia and 13 in Africa. “The sponsorship includes providing sustenance of food, health care, education, entertainment and financial support,” he added. “Teams from IIROSA have traveled to remote and unsafe areas looking for orphans who are victims of civil wars, racial and sectarian conflicts and natural disasters in order to salvage them and provide them with all the services they require,” he said, describing the achievements of the organization in this domain as “spectacular”. Basha said difficulties and perils have not deterred IIROSA teams from going to remote areas looking for the orphans and providing them with a better chance of living. “We have taken these orphans to schools and universities. Some of them are extremely talented and have obtained high eductaion,” he said. Basha expressed happiness that the organization was able to spread its values of virtue and nobility which have protected the orphans from going astray or falling prey to unethical practices. “We qualify and prepare them in every possible way to become good citizens. We provide them with health care and education opportunities. We are doing our utmost to inculcate social “Takaful” (Islamic insurance) and spread the spirit of cordiality and tolerance, which are basic pillars of Islam,” he said. He pointed out that the organization also looks for orphans who have lost their fathers but are still living with their families in order to provide them with financial help. “We are also looking for orphans who may have lost both parents so as to accommodate them in special orphanages and provide them with educational, health and entertainment programs that will compensate them for the loss of their families and provide them with a good upbringing and brighter future,” he said. Dr. Basha said IIROSA is working with a number of licensed welfare societies in many African and Asian countries to help them provide services to orphans and the families sheltering them. We have initiated the productive family programs in order to provide families accommodating orphans with production skills, he said. He indicated that the IIROSA has set up social centers to provide health, educational, social services and vocational training to orphans and their guardians, as well as teach them various skills including IT and sewing as part of its program. “IIROSA has also initiated a program to follow up the conditions of orphans and cater for their needs and requirements, whether they are psychological or social,” he said. Basha praised the philanthropists assisting IIROSA and said one of them was sponsoring as many as 70 orphans alone. He said IIROSA sponsored orphans in the Kingdom, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Syria, Sri Lanka, Lebanon and Yemen. In Africa, the organization sponsors orphan children in Ethiopia, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Chad, Tanzania, Tunisia, Gambia, Senegal, Sudan, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Malawi and Nigeria. In Europe, IIROSA is sponsoring orphans in Bosnia, Albania, Kosova and Macedonia. “We are expanding our care for the orphans through the provision of more distinctive services and by extending our reach,” he concluded.
