A new charity organization Orphan Love Foundation has raised over Tk1.4 lakh in donations for orphans amidst various crises plaguing the country.
The charity launched its website, it’s main medium of communication and collection of donations, on May 21, 2020. But the organization has existed at a smaller capacity for over a year prior to the launch, carrying out a series of projects in and outside of Dhaka.
Bangladesh is home to some 4.4 million orphaned children, according to SOS Children's Villages. This poverty-induced crisis has been further exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, hindering the work of charities as well as making life harder for orphanages.
While Orphan Love is unlikely to escape the effects of the current circumstances, they are, nonetheless, going ahead with their operations, prioritizing the online space to carry out as much of their tasks as possible amidst the pandemic.
Co-founder and CTO Syed Nazmus Sadat said that the organization wants to set itself apart by mobilizing orphan children in specific ways through their donations.
“We don’t plan to simply provide funds to orphanages because the benefit they get from that is temporary. Our plan is to mobilize orphan children by helping them acquire skills. That helps more in the long run,” he says.
Orphan Love has applied to register as a non-profit organization but current circumstances have delayed that process. Its office is located in Uttara.
Its website orphan.love accepts online donations for orphans for causes that include Zakat, sewing machines, medical emergencies, libraries, etc.
The website also allows visitors to create their own campaigns or become volunteers of their operation.
Thus far, it has raised Tk142,971 in donations from 37 donors on 7 causes.
