Kawthar, 13, Batool, 12,  Baneen, 10, Hajer, 3, & Malak, 2

“About a year ago, my father took my sisters and I to the market to get school supplies. After we had finished shopping, we were driving home, when all of a sudden, my father suffered a stroke. Our car started going in reverse and drove into a government building.”

“My sisters fell to the floor of the car, my mother hit her head on the windshield and went into a coma, two of my sisters fell unconscious. We didn’t know what was happening. That’s what I remember from the day of the accident because I fell unconscious after that.”

“When I woke up, I found myself in the hospital. I asked the doctors about my family. My sister and my mother were with me in the same room. But my father wasn’t there. I kept asking for my father, but nobody would tell me anything. Everyone kept quiet. But I kept asking, and finally the doctor said that he had passed away because of the stroke. I didn’t want to believe it. I was in denial. I felt like I was having a bad dream, but this was the sad truth.

“I remember the day before the accident, my father was being extra nice to us. He was hugging and kissing us more than usual. Maybe he had a feeling he was going to leave us. Ever since the day my father passed away, we’ve seen nothing but sadness. We remember him and cry every day. His death killed our childhood.

“We had to leave our house because we couldn’t afford the rent anymore. My uncle let us live with him, but he can’t take care of us financially because he’s not doing well, and he has his wife and three kids to take care of. Sometimes he gives us a little bit of money to get though the day. But we feel like we are a big burden on him and his family. My father used to own a cell phone store, and we were doing well. Now, we don’t even have a place we can call home.

“My mother’s eyesight has been getting worse since the accident. She needs to have surgery to fix it. But we don’t have any money for that. It will cost us about $1000, but we can’t afford it. We hope we can find a job so we can start making some money and live on our own and pay for our mother’s surgery. But no one will give us work because we’re all still young. My mother can’t work because of her eyesight. We are five girls with so many needs. But no one wants to help us.

“I want the world to know that whoever makes an orphan happy, it’s as if he made the orphan live again,” Kawthar said.

The above represents one of many orphan stories by victims in war-torn regions. Your support can make a difference for orphans like Kawthar and her siblings. Make a contribution today by clicking here.