Publisher's Synopsis
The existence of orphans and orphanages is worldwide and quite old. The population of this vulnerable group is widespread all over the world. "UNICEF and global partners define an orphan as a child who has lost one or both parents. This definition represents not only children who have lost both parents but also those who have lost a father but have a surviving mother or have lost their mother but have a surviving father. These definitions contradict with the concept of an orphan in many industrialized countries where a child must have lost both guardians to qualify as an orphan. UNICEF and numerous of other international organizations adopted the broader definition of an orphan in the mid-1990s as the AIDS pandemic began leading to the death of millions of parents worldwide leading an ever-increasing number of children growing up without one or both parents. So the terminology of a 'single orphan'- the loss of one parent- and a 'double orphan'- the loss of both parents- was born to convey this growing crisis".
