Family for helpless children: A woman’s dream drives Angels Orphanage

Bengaluru: In 1991, Sabina Solomon, an enthusiastic woman from Namma Bengaluru, joined a local orphanage in Shivajinagar as a volunteer. In 1998, after her husband’s passing, she decided to dedicate the rest of her life to orphaned children she had come to love. Along with her own three children, she moved into the orphanage full time and never looked back.

In 2007, she assumed the role of a director and renamed it “Angels Orphanage,” which was her husband’s dream.

Angels Orphanage is a volunteer-run home for orphaned and abandoned children with a mission to provide them safety, nutrition, education, medical attention and love that every child deserves. As it does not receive any government help, all of its funding comes from individual or corporate sponsors in and around Bengaluru.

Mr Stalin Solomon, Administrator and Trustee, Angels Orphanage, told Deccan Chronicle, “I am the guardian and one of the caretakers of children at the orphanage. We take care of their morning routine and send them to school as we believe that education is the most powerful tool. We never let any children feel they are orphan and try to give them the feeling of a family."

Sabina relies upon help from her family and volunteers to run the orphanage, which has leased the property from a private organisation. It serves as a temporary home to a few volunteers and over 50 children. As the lease is expiring next year, Sabina is working hard to arrange for a new location and ensure a smooth transition for the Angels Orphanage family.

“The flow of funding can be inconsistent and Angels Orphanage requires more funding at certain times of the year, like when the children have to be admitted to school, during festivals, and when children fall sick,” Mr Stalin Solomon said.

Some of the children here have lost both parents, but most of them have come from families that are too poor to take care of them. “The moment they arrive at the orphanage all that changes as we work towards making the children part of a big family that encourages them to dream, to grow and to aspire for more. The older children act as role models for the younger ones,” he said.

As 30 children sleep in the same room, there are high chances of them catching infections. The organisation ensure that the children consume fresh drinking water, bathe regularly, and always have clean clothes to wear, the volunteers said.