Orphans are those who have been left by their biological parents due to many causes, including disease, poverty, abandonment, natural disasters, accidents and war. Every year, millions of children around the world are left to fend for themselves.

The scenario has become so increasingly common at the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has prompted massive economic downfall in countries around the world. In 2021, an estimated 140,000 children in the U.S. have lost at least one parent to the COVID-19 pandemic, which means orphanhood is the second tragedy to hit the U.S. between 2019 and 2021.

The increasing rate of orphanhood has prompted the designation of Nov. 8 as World Orphans Day, which aims to commemorate the orphans in the world. On this day, people are encouraged to show orphans some care by organizing charity drives and sponsoring an orphaned child. They may also prepare meals which they can take to a local orphanage.

The day was first proclaimed by various dignitaries and activists within the AIDS and orphan communities who appealed to the United Nations to officially mark the observance on the second Monday of November each year.

Now, let us take a look at some quotes that tell a lot about the heartbreaking realities faced by orphans. (Courtesy: Goodreads.com)

  • "Perhaps there are those who are able to go about their lives unfettered by such concerns. But for those like us, our fate is to face the world as orphans, chasing through long years the shadows of vanished parents. There is nothing for it but to try and see through our missions to the end, as best we can, for until we do so, we will be permitted no calm." — Kazuo Ishiguro
  • "When you lose your parents as a child, you are indoctrinated into a club, you're taken into life's severest confidence. You are undeceived." — Hilary Thayer Hamann
  • "The women laughed and wept; the crowd stamped their feet enthusiastically, for at that moment Quasimodo was really beautiful. He was handsome — this orphan, this foundling, this outcast." — Victor Hugo
  • "Orphanages are the only places that ever left me feeling empty and full at the same time." — John M. Simmons
  • "We can point the finger at adults for the stupid decisions they make in life, but an orphaned child can never be blamed for the situation in which they find themselves." — Kevin Ansbro
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Representational image. Pixabay
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