Inside Dubai village that serves as home for children without families
Once these kids reach their 21st birthday, it is the state that foots the bill for all their needs, from attending school to housing and even marriage expenses.
For the past nine years, a house in Dubai has been acting in the capacity of an orphanage. The Family Village has housed more than 390 orphans from the Kindergarten to Elementary School as of 2015 when the ruler of Dubai launched it.
The enclosed environment has provided preparation for the work, marriage and life to children with no known parents. Such support for the years to come guarantee that each child who has ever been in the Family Village will have a good prospect.
Every complex living cost is paid by the state, as long as the person is not older than 21 years, sometimes including tuition fees, arrangement of marriage and rent.
The children benefit from the possession of child-friendly housing in the village, which includes the cluster of 16 villas where six are on rent.
Equally homes from an Emirati perspective, the foster houses were based in Dubai. Its furnished five-bedroom villas come along with a ‘parent’ – a woman or a man who may be the family head.
Atout mothers, fathers or anyone who works at the village contribute the much needed emotional encouragement especially at festive times and students’ graduations. They perform every allowable parental act such as cooking, providing direction and counsel, and instructional activities and offer assistance 24 hours a day. This kind of assistance eases the mental strains that most of the children who lost their parents are likely to suffer from.
According to Dr Abdulaziz Al Hamadi, director of CDA, ‘socially deprived children have not lived in the institutions — they have lived in a family-style home where they did all very ordinary and usual family activities, such as having friends over, celebrating things and even having barbecues in the garden.
The official indicated that the number of children being cared for at the village has been decreasing as more families step up to foster infants aged under two.Dr Al Hamadi explained that the complex includes an administrative building with staff offices, a clinic, a visitor reception hall, multipurpose rooms, a theater, and a dedicated team of social supervisors. This medical and psychological supervision is exhaustive in nature and 24-hour cover is provided.
Institutional rules incorporated into children's behavior regarding anti-social activities have been developed to promote children's welfare.
Dr Al Hamadi said that monthly and weekly recreational and educational activities are organized, including also Quran memorisation programs. Also, they participate in outside activities according to their interests and regional summer tours are organized with children and their parents to hotels and places of entertainment within the country and abroad.
When the children reach adulthood and are ready for marriage, case workers help them with registering for CDA community services, for example, Dubai wedding and other related services aimed at helping them build stable marital relations.
The First Middle Eastern project aimed at orphans - The Family Village - caters for the physically or parental deprived children.
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