Sure name 7 Abandoned Children The term abandonment of children refers to the failure of a parent or guardian to provide support to his/her children as per the requirement of the court of law. Similarly, the practice of leaving a child at the doorstep of a stranger when he or she is not at home has been classified as child abandonment. Generally, child abandonment is witnessed when a person in charge of a child, a guardian, or a parent fails to provide all the basic needs to a child or deserts his/her child without putting into consideration the physical health and the general welfare of the child. According to UNICEF, more than 400,000,000 abandoned children from all over the world live on their own in various streets especially in all the major towns in different countries. More often than not, we are reminded in the moral teaching to, "Care for the orphan" and to "Care for the fatherless." Because if we don't reach out to them, then who will? Rather than asking the question, Why me? We should instead ask the question, Why not me? As members of the society we should act with immediate effect before this problem gets out of our hands. Different authors have conducted extensive research on some of the core causes of abandoned children or abandonment of children by their guardians or by their parents. Donlon et.al, argues that the root cause of abandonment of children is unwanted pregnancies especially among the youth (170). I do agree with Donlon et.al. that cases of abandoned children especially in the developing countries have been increasing at a high rate because a good number of the youths more so those at adolescent stage are getting pregnant (168). In order to curb or to reduce this problem then it will be a prudent idea for policy makers in the education sector to introduce sex education as part of the school syllabus. By doing this, youths especially young girls and boys at adolescent stage will be given information on unprotected sex as well as ways in which they can make informed choices. Considering the fact that, knowledge is power, the sex education will equip knowledge to these youths on the consequences of unplanned pregnancies thus we will rest assured of witnessing a substantive reduction in the number of cases of abandoned children in our society. On their Nelson, Fox and Zeanah, argue that cases of abandoned children arise as a result of the weakening of our family setup or family institutions. Indeed this argument is very true and as a matter of fact, technological advancement and globalization has created a society whereby parents no longer take the responsibility of bringing up their children, however they delegate this duty to other people whom they employ (63). For the case of the United States of America, nearly all parents who are employed are full time workers thus they spend 10 or even more hours in their places of work. As a result of this children end up growing without the experience of their parental ...

1. Sure name 7
Abandoned Children
The term abandonment of children refers to the failure of a
parent or guardian to provide support to his/her children as per
the requirement of the court of law. Similarly, the practice of
leaving a child at the doorstep of a stranger when he or she is
not at home has been classified as child abandonment.
Generally, child abandonment is witnessed when a person in
charge of a child, a guardian, or a parent fails to provide all the
basic needs to a child or deserts his/her child without putting
into consideration the physical health and the general welfare of
the child. According to UNICEF, more than 400,000,000
abandoned children from all over the world live on their own in
various streets especially in all the major towns in different
countries. More often than not, we are reminded in the moral
teaching to, "Care for the orphan" and to "Care for the
fatherless." Because if we don't reach out to them, then who
will? Rather than asking the question, Why me? We should
instead ask the question, Why not me? As members of the
society we should act with immediate effect before this problem
gets out of our hands.
Different authors have conducted extensive research on
some of the core causes of abandoned children or abandonment
of children by their guardians or by their parents. Donlon et.al,
argues that the root cause of abandonment of children is
unwanted pregnancies especially among the youth (170). I do
agree with Donlon et.al. that cases of abandoned children
especially in the developing countries have been increasing at a
high rate because a good number of the youths more so those at
adolescent stage are getting pregnant (168). In order to curb or
to reduce this problem then it will be a prudent idea for policy
makers in the education sector to introduce sex education as
part of the school syllabus. By doing this, youths especially

2. young girls and boys at adolescent stage will be given
information on unprotected sex as well as ways in which they
can make informed choices. Considering the fact that,
knowledge is power, the sex education will equip knowledge to
these youths on the consequences of unplanned pregnancies thus
we will rest assured of witnessing a substantive reduction in the
number of cases of abandoned children in our society.
On their Nelson, Fox and Zeanah, argue that cases of
abandoned children arise as a result of the weakening of our
family setup or family institutions. Indeed this argument is very
true and as a matter of fact, technological advancement and
globalization has created a society whereby parents no longer
take the responsibility of bringing up their children, however
they delegate this duty to other people whom they employ (63).
For the case of the United States of America, nearly all parents
who are employed are full time workers thus they spend 10 or
even more hours in their places of work. As a result of this
children end up growing without the experience of their parental
love. In fact our present day parents are interested in career and
work development thus they don’t have enough time to spend
with their children. In my view, parents should remember that
children are a gift from God thus they should be close to them
as much as possible. The point here is that, children do bring
you to their parents and above all when parents get old then it’s
their children who will take care of them. Therefore, there is an
urgent need for parents to create more time which they will
spend with their children and we will rest assured of reducing
cases of abandoned children in our societies.
While assessing some of the challenges faced by troubled
children, Nelson, Fox and Zeanah, states that most of them
especially those in the streets do have trouble sleeping (65). In
addition to this Nelson, Fox and Zeanah, says that quite a
number of abandoned children feel betrayed by their parents or
guardians who were looking after them before they were
abandoned (67). I do agree with this sentiments and from my
personal observations I can add that abandoned children end up

3. experiencing a lot of difficulty when it comes to concentration
on school work thus their performance is dismal or totally poor.
Fig1..Abandoned child ( incoorect)
Furthermore abandoned children are susceptible to chronic
illness or chronic diseases among other types of diseases. Fig 2
below I do believe there is an urgent need for healthcare
professionals and psychologists to work hand in hand with these
children, with their guardians, parents, as well as with their
teachers so as to ensure that their special needs are gathered for.
Fig2.Abandoned child crying ( incorrect)
In my opinion, the government and non-governmental
organization as well as members of the society should play a
vital role if we are to avoid or if we are to reduce the number of
children who are abandoned on daily basis. Van den Berg,
argues that, there is an urgent need for the government to
enforce a law that is geared at ensuring that all parents and
guardians are held responsible in providing their children with
the basic needs (15). In addition to this, the police should be
trained on how they can make use of new techniques such as
DNA test in finding out the parents of those children who have
been abandoned by their parents or by their guardians.
Besides that, Van den Berg, argues that there is an urgent
need for the government as well as the Non-Governmental
Organization to ensure that they provide shelter or homes to
pregnant girls as well as to the abandoned children who are out
there in the street (25-17). As mentioned above, the root cause
of abandoned children is unwanted pregnancy especially among
young girls who are unwed or those who are not employed.
Basically, bringing up a young child poses a great challenge to
not only unmarried women but also to married couples thus
some abandon their children as a way to escape from the big
responsibility of bringing up a child. In setting up homes for
pregnant girls and the abandoned children, the government
should ensure that these individuals are provided with

4. counseling services. This will help them to overcome depression
that they are undergoing and in addition to this, counseling
services will help them to adapt in their new environment. It is
equally important, for the government and the Non-
Governmental Organizations to help the abandoned children to
find their parents and ensure that they provide them with all the
basic needs and good care as per the constitution. By doing this,
parents will not risk abandoning their children because they
know very well that if they do so then they will face the full
force of the law.
Furthermore Suárez and Marshall, states categorically that
media can play a vital role in overcoming this problem of
abandoned children (178). It is quite evident that we live in a
global village whereby we are connected by technology thus
technology can help us overcome social challenges that we are
facing such as abandoned children. As concerned citizens and
members of a society we need to create awareness among our
friends, our families, and in our society at large on the
importance of providing children with their basic needs as their
parents or as their guardians. In addition to this, we should use
various media platforms that are available such as Twitter,
emails, Television, and radio among other forms to educate or
to remind members of the society on how they can help
abandoned babies as well as the importance of taking care of
their beloved children given to them by God.
Fig3. Abandoned child ( incorrect)
To sum up, I can attest that the problem of abandoned
children is increasingly become a threat to the social
organization of our society. As I have noted earlier, it is
estimated that more than 400,000,000 children from all parts of
the world have been classified as abandoned because their
parents or their guardians are not responsible. It is very clear
that the root cause of abandoned children is unplanned
pregnancy especially among the youths who are not employed
thus because they lack financial ability they abandon their

5. children at the expense of strangers or at the expense of the
government. Secondly, it has comes out clearly that abandoned
children face a number of challenges and they include: trouble
sleeping, chronic diseases among other problems. That said,
government and non-governmental organization should play a
vital role in the fight against this problem of child
abandonment. Among the roles to be played by the government
include: formulation and implementation of laws that will put
parents and guardians on the radar, supporting non-
governmental organizations that are tasked with provision of
support to homes established to help abandoned children.
Moreover, policy makers should include sex education in school
syllabus and we will rest assured of having a group of youths
who are well informed about their bodies.
Work Cited
Donlon P, Lake J, Pope E, Shaw C, Haskett M. “Community
Action Targeting Children Who Are Homeless (CATCH):
Addressing the Mental Health and Developmental Needs of
Children Experiencing Homelessness.”Families in Society 95.3
(2014): 163-170. Academic Search Complete. October 14, 2015.
Nelson Iii C, Fox N, Zeanah J. Anguish of the Abandoned
Child. Scientific American. 308.4 (2013): 62-67. Available
from: Academic Search Complete. October 14, 2015.
Suárez D, Marshall J. Capacity in the NGO Sector: Results from
a National Survey in Cambodia. Voluntas: International Journal
of Voluntary & Nonprofit Organizations: 25(1):176-200 (2014).
Available from: Academic Search Complete.October 14, 2015.
Van den Berg R. Providing a containing space for unbearable
feelings. Psycho-Analytic Psychotherapy In South Africa:
22(2):1-18 (2014). Available from: Academic Search Complete.
October 14, 2015.