A Home Next Door

According to John Bowlby, a British psychologist and psychoanalyst, he believed that early childhood attachments formed a crucial role in their later development and mental functioning, and came up with a theory called Maternal Deprivation.

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Bowlby (1951) claimed that mothering is almost useless if delayed until after two and a half to three years and, for most children if delayed till after 12 months, i.e., there is a critical period.

If the attachment figure is broken or disrupted during the critical two year period, the child will suffer irreversible long-term consequences of this maternal deprivation. This risk continues until the age of five.

Bowlby used the term maternal deprivation to refer to the separation or loss of the mother as well as failure to develop an attachment.

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If this is the case, then I can only begin to imagine the life of an orphan - socially, emotionally and mentally. Especially those who knew their parents before they passed away.

Blog.visiontrust.org, says that, UNICEF defines an orphan as a child under 18 years of age who has lost one or both parents to any cause of death. However, despite the common association of the word “orphan” with infants, UNICEF estimates that 95% of orphans are older than five.

Based on this definition, orphans are not only those who do not have any surviving parents, but also those whos parents have permanently abandoned them or their parents are unknown of including their whereabouts. It’s quite sad knowing that there are possibly 153 million children worldwide who are orphans. Some of these children may be lucky enough to become fostered or adopted before they enter adulthood, but unfortunately for some, the reality is that they may never get to experience being in a family, what it means to truly enjoy their childhood and how it feels to be loved.

Orphans need special attention and care. However, the communities that support these children are in need of resources and assistance as well. By defining ‘orphan’ in a broader sense and recognising the individuals who care for these orphans in their daily lives, we recognise that the orphan crisis is more complex than it may initially appear. While it may not seem like a serious concern, the way that we define the word “orphan” really matters. With so much misinformation circulating about the status of the world’s orphan population, it’s hard to come to a definite conclusion about how to help. The bible tells us in James 1 vs 27, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” There may not be much we can do to help orphans, but the little that we can do, let us endeavour to do so. As Tesco’s slogan goes, “Every little helps”. What may seem to you as a grain of help, can be the size of a mountain to someone in need. Although it would be great to foster or adopt some of these children to bring them into a loving home, it’s not always that easy and feasible. As the scripture says, let us find time to visit the orphans and be there for them, to bring them encouragement and to bring them hope.

Father, I place all the orphans in this world before You. I pray for those who have been given the chance to be in a family again, that they will be placed in the right home of loving parents and siblings who will treat them as their own and not like an outcast. May they experience love once again. And for those who are desiring to be in a family, those who are waiting on you Lord to give them permanent security and for the ones who are still living on the streets that no one is aware of, Father may You show Yourself true to them and provide their needs. I pray that as they patiently wait, You will keep them safe from harm, give them shelter and food to eat. I ask that those who are able to help in any way possible, that they will do so without hesitation. In Jesus name