Khaberni - The second floor of King Abdullah II Orphanage in Salt is expected to open in June of this year.
Naji Al-Alwan, the President of Jordanian Red Crescent in Balqa and Chairman of the interim committee of King Abdullah II Orphanage for Orphans, confirmed that the goal of constructing the second floor of the orphanage, costing (130,000 Jordanian dinars funded by the Balqa Governorate Council), is aimed at expansion and increasing the capacity and creating job opportunities for the local community according to opinion.
Al-Alwan explained that it is expected to receive cases from other overcrowded shelters and due to an increase in family disintegration cases, where the capacity of the building is (40), with an attempt to change the age group that will be served in the orphanage from birth up to 14 years to become up to 18 years, which requires modification of the rules and instructions in place at the orphanage.
He indicated that the Jordanian Red Crescent, established in 1956, is the official umbrella for the orphanage, which was founded in 1965 to assist families under challenging human circumstances that they face. He noted that the number of beneficiaries in the orphanage is (12) students, all on school benches except for a 4-year-old girl within the age range of 4 to 12 years, and there are success stories of graduates from the orphanage who have proven their merit in school and public life.
The orphanage welcomes three categories: orphans, those without family support, and those from broken families, which is done by a decision from the Family Protection Department and the Juvenile Court, and by a judge’s decision, the placement is renewed annually.
The King Abdullah II Orphanage for Orphans received special attention from Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah with a special visit to the orphanage in 2018 after she ordered the renovation and full furnishing of the building.
Al-Balqa Applied University and the Princess Taghrid Institute offer free periodic medical examinations to the beneficiaries of the orphanage in a humanitarian step that embodies the highest meanings of charity work.
According to Al-Alwan, the director, educators, and all those serving the beneficiaries focus on proper upbringing and nurturing based on the principles of Islamic Sharia, teaching them behavioral skills, and communication with people as preachers are hosted to teach the students proper religious education and memorize the Quran. As for the challenges facing the orphanage, he affirmed that the social worker makes strenuous efforts to modify the behavior of the orphanage's beneficiaries and change the entrenched ideas in their minds about various lifestyle matters. Among the challenges facing the orphanage is receiving cases not enrolled in schools, which affects their academic and intellectual level and attempting to integrate them within a remedial system in public schools.
