Social Orphans

Social orphans are children with at least one living parent, but for no fault of their own, have been placed in an institutionalized childcare facility. They are at the bottom of the social scale for children.

The term “Fallen Leaf Syndrome” has been coined to describe their situation:
a mental attitude as a result from feeling unloved, unwanted, without value and blown about by fate.

They feel acutely the rejection by those who should be their security in childhood, their parents. There are mainly two family environments these social orphans come from.

• Some of them are from dysfunctional homes, and have suffered neglect, abuse and mistreatment. Many of these children do not want to go to their parents even after leaving the orphange
• Others have come from a home where they experienced warmth and love, but for some reason the authorities have removed them from their family. There are various reasons for this, among them are acute poverty, or a single paren with a mental/emotional health condition like severe depression or anxiety. These children are placed together with socially dysfunctional kids.

Both these groups of children need to experience family life, in an emotionally stable family.

A few of the children in orphanages are true orphan, whose parents have died. They have some form of closure in the longer term. The social orphan, knowing the parent is out there somewhere, but does not care, is hurt daily. The rejection is always in the background.

An interesting observation with these children is that they generally do badly at school and have low motivation, but will do well for somebody who cares.

Agape Trust needs support to be able to help those social orphans we are in contact with.