RIYADH: More than 11,000 Saudi families have fostered orphaned children, the national foster care association announced on World Adoption Day on Sunday.
The figure was released by the Al-Wedad Charity Association, the only organization authorized by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development to oversee the national foster care program for orphaned children of unknown parentage, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The association also launched a new publicity campaign to highlight the heartfelt stories of foster parents and their children.
In a video published by Al-Wedad on X, one adoptive parent said of her child: “When she hugs me, I feel like she’s hugging my heart.”
Another parent said: “I’ve never been as happy in my life, nor heard a word that made me happier than the word ‘Mama’.”
One of the parents who took part in the adoption program described it as “the most beautiful feeling I’ve ever experienced in my life.” Another said: “We thank the Al-Wedad Association for giving us this chance.”
The charity’s CEO, Dhaif Allah Al-Nami, said that the campaign is an extension of Al-Wedad’s efforts to spread awareness and promote social acceptance of adoption, highlighting the mutual feelings of love and belonging between child and family, the SPA reported.
The SPA also highlighted the importance of adoption in the Islamic tradition, citing a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, who said: “I and the person who looks after an orphan and provides for him, will be in Paradise like this,” putting his index and middle fingers together.
As well as spreading awareness, Al-Wedad provides a range of services to support orphaned children and their foster families, including social, psychological and educational counseling to families to help them care for their children throughout their lives.
The association provides temporary accommodation for orphaned children, and assists foster families in breastfeeding.
