Orphanhood is without doubt a great trial from God, which befalls a person when they lose one of the pillars of their family, the father who looks after their affairs. Life turns into hardship while they are still young. But from God’s mercy to His servants, He made orphan sponsorship a door of relief and compensation for some of what they missed. The orphan then goes out into life and their hope and ambition rise. Their life may even become one of the inspiring orphan success stories that pages and tongues pass around. Yet each time the orphan credits, after God Almighty, the people of kindness and says: “I thank the one who sponsored me and supported me.”
Behind each story are rulings and practical steps you can find in the guide Orphan Sponsorship: Its Rulings and How to Begin Today.
The impact of sponsorship on orphans’ lives
All an orphan needs is one positive step taken by a person of goodness, who decides to sponsor this orphan just to secure the necessary expenses: food, clothing and study.
This kind person (whom the orphan may never meet) may not realize the great impact they make at every moment of the orphan’s life. Their act becomes like a good seed they planted, and long years pass until they see its effect and fruits.
This is the sponsored orphan: a seed of good work. How many sponsors are surprised when they meet, after a long time, yesterday’s sponsored child who has become a doctor, a researcher or a business owner, after being a small child whose face showed innocence and shyness.
1* Sumayya Kasbovich: a doctoral ambition to serve her country
Among orphan success stories is the story of Sumayya, who was shocked by the loss of her father and by the suffering of a wounded country because of the armed conflict that her country, Bosnia and Herzegovina, saw in the mid-nineties.
For a time in her childhood she lived with her family in an atmosphere of fear and despair because of the events that Bosnia and Herzegovina went through then. But God’s care kept her and her siblings when people of kindness in Qatar sponsored her. One of the benefactors helped her overcome the difficulties of living and continue her studies, and influenced her progress and success.
Sumayya learned patience, struggle and perseverance from the school of orphanhood, and after years drew from them an astonishing story of ambition and strong trust in God first and in herself second. All of this contributed to achieving the dreams she had planned. Sumayya says: “All my ambitions came true by God’s grace; I drew strength from Him, glory be to Him, and found that the wishes I was striving for did not stay away from me.”
Indeed, Sumayya graduated from primary school with distinction in 2005, then graduated from secondary school with distinction as well.
God’s care willed that she continue her academic path in Qatar, the country she loved, at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, crowning her journey with a master’s degree in Islamic studies.
2* Dr. Hayatullah Atid: ambition and clarity of vision carry the orphaned refugee child to world training halls
God may grant His servant the ability to overcome the hardships he went through in childhood, turning them into a stumble he soon gets past, if he has patience, a clear vision of what he intends to do, and the ambition to change his reality, and even the reality of his nation.
This is the summary of the story of Dr. Hayatullah Atid from Afghanistan. The turning point came after he received sponsorship from a benefactor.
Dr. Atid says of that period: “I will not forget that day when I was registered at the Saad ibn Muadh school for orphans in Peshawar, where Qatar Charity’s teachers taught me. I was an outstanding student at school. I also translated what Qatar Charity’s representative needed into English, while I was in the fifth grade of primary school.” Sponsorship played a great role in his future life and academic and professional distinction, and he spoke of it with much gratitude, saying: “Qatar Charity played a pivotal role in lifting me from the bitterness of orphanhood to this success I achieved by God’s grace.”
The young man’s appetite for success then opened, until he obtained a master’s degree in Arabic literature with an excellent grade, and a doctorate in human development, also with an excellent grade. He established an international reputation as a trainer and consultant.
The doctor tells a moving story that happened to him during one of his visits to Qatar, where he met Sheikh Abdullah al-Dabbagh, one of the founders of Qatar Charity and one of the pioneers of charitable work in Qatar.
Dr. Atid tried to remind Sheikh al-Dabbagh of himself, but the Sheikh did not remember him because of the long time, so the doctor reminded him of a song he had sung for him when he was a student at the school in Peshawar. The Sheikh could only embrace him, moved, and wept.
3* Rabia Qazi: when hope is the best medicine for overcoming life’s challenges
She almost lost hope of achieving her childhood dream of becoming a doctor who helps those of limited means. The earthquake disaster struck her area in Kashmir in Pakistan and led to the loss of her father.
But hope returned to find its way into the heart of the girl Rabia, thanks to the monthly sponsorship she benefited from within the Rafaqa initiative. Rabia joined secondary school, and her story became one of the most beautiful orphan success stories, as she completed it with an excellent result, taking her first steps toward her future dream: studying medicine.
Indeed Rabia enrolled in the bachelor of medicine and surgery program at the medical college in Kashmir, continuing her education with confidence and ability.
4* Abdulfattah: from early deprivation of parental tenderness to the ambition of academic excellence
The orphanhood of the child Abdulfattah from Kenya began at the age of five, after his father died. His mother then died while he was in his second year of study. These events affected the young child who was deprived of tenderness early.
But the opportunity came to benefit from the sponsorship of one of the benefactors, which he says greatly influenced his life through the comprehensive educational, health and behavioral care it provided, easing for him the loss of his parents and the warmth of a family.
The ambitious young man continued his education until he joined Moi University in Eldoret and obtained a diploma in public health. In 2014 he joined Mount Kenya University, continuing his studies in the faculty of medicine and public health to obtain a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s degree in public health, specializing in epidemiology and disease control.
After graduating from university he joined public health awareness campaigns in his country, Kenya.
Abdulfattah says: “I learned that life is full of difficulties. It is essential to stand with oneself to discover the inner strength that God created in us, which, if we use it well, makes us able to bear hardships and turn them into opportunities. And because I lived in the orphan center with a group of children of different ethnic backgrounds, cultures and traditions.”
Read also:
- The Orphan Sponsorship Guide: Its Rulings and Steps to Begin
- Social Care and Psychological Support for Orphans
- The Story of an Orphan Who Reached a Doctorate
Frequently asked questions about orphan success stories
Does sponsorship really change an orphan’s life path?
The decisive difference is not the amount but its timing and continuity. Sponsorship that arrives before a student drops out of school preserves the whole path, while sponsorship that arrives after dropping out takes far more effort to bring them back. That is why sponsorship is designed as annual and extended, not a single payment.
What does an orphan need to excel in studies?
Three things together: financial stability that lifts the burden of early providing, psychological support that makes up for what was lost, and an educational environment that lets them keep up. The absence of any one is enough to stop the path, however gifted the student.
Does orphan sponsorship include higher education?
Orphan sponsorship programs usually cover the stages of basic education, while higher education has separate support programs such as sponsoring a student of knowledge and scholarships in medical and engineering specializations. Moving between the two programs is what keeps the path continuous.
How do I follow the impact of my sponsorship?
Through the periodic reports the Rafaqa initiative provides on the sponsored child’s educational and health situation. This follow-up is the practical difference between a one-off donation and sponsorship, since it lets the sponsor know where the person they sponsor has got to.
