Background

According to estimates, there are around 30 million orphaned and abandoned children across the country. Needless to say, such a staggering number of children are vulnerable to a variety of grave issues in their emotional, social, and educational development, as they grapple with social isolation and material deprivation. 

Even when the children are placed in institutional care to ensure that their basic physical needs are being met, they continue to struggle with psychosocial issues, including grief, emotional distress, PTSD, low self-esteem, and attachment issues. In this light, what all children need, and what orphaned children particularly benefit from, is holistic support, including access to rehabilitation and counseling therapy, a sense of community, and kinship through community-building activities, and opportunities to enrich their educational journeys. 

In the absence of this support, orphaned children tend to struggle with mental health, academic difficulties, and behavioral problems in adult life. In order to create positive and lasting changes in the lives of these children, it is imperative to address these gaps. Achieving this goal would mean ensuring that these children have the opportunities to break free from cycles of poverty and marginalization and develop well-rounded and adjusted identities. In this light, Little Stars strives to transform orphanages into healthy communities that make the children residing here feel valued, in order to support them into becoming resilient and empowered individuals.