Dear donors ♥

The A & A Rainbow Hearts Around The World Foundation has been bringing aid to Nigeria for five years. We provide humanitarian aid to the hungry, support education and treatment for children, support widows with children and provide assistance to IDPs. We run an IDP camp where we care for single widows with children and total orphans.

There are currently more than 800 orphans in our IDP camp. We feel responsible for them as a foundation and strive to ensure their safety.

Caring for orphans is a significant part of Islam. Orphans are mentioned 22 times in the Qur’an; their mistreatment is a serious sin, while nurturing and sponsoring them is an immensely valuable good deed.

Here’s how this good deed is beneficial in this life and the next:

One: You will be close to the Prophet Muhammad (saw)

Sponsoring orphans is a cause particularly dear to the Prophet Muhammad’s (saw) heart. He (saw) was also an orphan - his father passed away before he was even born, and his mother passed away when he was a young child.

The Prophet (saw) said, ‘The one who cares for an orphan and myself will be together in Paradise like this’, and he (saw) held his two fingers together to illustrate. [Bukhari]

Two: You will have ‘the best house’

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, ‘The best house among the Muslims is the house in which orphans are well-treated. The worst house among the Muslims is the house in which orphans are ill-treated’. [Bukhari]

Two: You will have ‘the best house’

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, ‘The best house among the Muslims is the house in which orphans are well-treated. The worst house among the Muslims is the house in which orphans are ill-treated’. [Bukhari]

Ultimately, the status of ‘best house’ is not achieved by anything material such as property value, a beautiful garden or an expensive refurbishing - the best home is one which shows care and concern for orphans.

Especially during lockdowns, when we are spending all our time at home, we should strive to make our homes blessed places where angels gather, the Name of Allah is remembered and the Sunnah is lived.

In his Last Sermon given on Hajj, the Prophet Muhammad (saw) taught us that all human beings are completely equal in status ‘except in piety and good deeds’.

Our status in the eyes of Allah is dependent upon our righteous actions - and one of the ways we can achieve righteousness is by giving to orphans:

In this ayah, immediately after stating the basic beliefs required of all Muslims, Allah says spending wealth for His sake is a righteous quality! He (swt) specifically mentions orphans as people deserving of our wealth.

Thus, sponsoring orphan is a righteous deed which has been given a truly high status by Allah.

During a crisis, we may - consciously or unconsciously - give a little less charity, feeling that we can’t afford to be generous in an unstable situation. However, the power of charity is that it never decreases your wealth.

‘Blessed is the wealth of the Muslim, from which he gives to the poor, the orphan and the wayfarer’. [Muslim]

Giving charity blesses our wealth and increases it, for only Allah can control our rizq (provision). Thus, giving during a crisis is a beautiful way to express your trust in Allah and reaffirm to yourself that you are dependent on Him alone.

When mentioning certain good deeds in the Qur’an, Allah also describes in detail the beautiful things in Jannah we will earn by doing these good deeds. In Surah Insan, Allah describes people who give their food to orphans and the needy, purely for His sake:

’And they give food, in spite of love for it, to the needy, the orphan, and the captive. [Saying], “We feed you only for the countenance of Allah. We don’t want from you either reward or gratitude. Indeed, we fear from our Lord a Day austere and distressful”’. (The Noble Qur’an, 76:8-10)

The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development of Nigeria estimates that there are 17.5 million orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) across the country. These children face enormous challenges to their health and development, and it is estimated that 95% of OVC do not receive any type of medical, emotional, social, material or schooling support (National Population Commission, Federal Republic of Nigeria, and ICF International 2013). Child malnutrition is one of the leading causes of child morbidity and mortality in Nigeria, and a 2015 cross-sectional study found that more than a quarter of OVCs surveyed showed symptoms of mild to moderate malnutrition. In addition, nearly 70 per cent of them experienced household food insecurity, putting them at risk of malnutrition.

Above we have presented official government figures from 2015, which are currently out of date. Due to the deterioration of the economy in recent years and due to the increase in crime, our Foundation is seeing an increase in the number of children who are becoming orphans. We see this by operating on the ground and in Maiduguri alone, the number of orphans has increased from 50 children in our care in 2020 to over 800 children in the care of the Foundation in March 2024.

The causes of child orphanhood in Nigeria are primarily attacks by armed terrorist groups in villages or on the roads, as well as multidimensional poverty, hunger and lack of basic medical care, which contributes to the death of sick parents through lack of treatment.

Orphaned children in Nigeria are mostly left to fend for themselves and face many dangers - hunger, disease, sexual exploitation and very often they are victims of human trafficking.

In Borno State, most of the orphans who come into the care of our Foundation are complete orphans who have lost both parents mainly in attacks by armed terrorist groups. The children who come to us most often require immediate medical attention and treatment for wounds and treatment for severe malnutrition.

In our care are orphans, both boys and girls, ranging in age from infants to children aged 1-5, children aged 6-10 and children aged 11-18.

Our Foundation's volunteers act as mothers, fathers and teachers and guardians for these children.

Orphaned children in Nigeria do not have a good life. Every day they face danger, hunger and the lack of any kind of help. Very often they are forced into begging and prostitution in order to survive. They also fall victim to human trafficking and are sold as cheap labour or organ donors. The orphans in the care of our Foundation are fortunate in that no one will harm them. Their only enemy at the moment is hunger.

We need the support of donors to clothe, treat and feed these children every day. Therefore, we are very much asking for your help for these children.

For any donation from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you ♥.

Please also subscribe to our YouTube channel. This will help us to raise more funds to help children.