Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania visited the Charitable Society for the Care of Orphans on Monday and checked on the services offered to orphans benefiting from the society.

After touring the orphanage's facilities, King Abdullah and Queen Rania distributed schoolbags and gifts to the 40 orphans residing there.

The King was briefed on the society's duties and the financial situation of the orphanage, which was established in 1978.

The three-storey facility, located on a 2,700- square-metre plot in Wadi Seer, was funded by donations from Jordanian and Kuwaiti benefactors, the society's president, Rebhi Qaddoumi, said.

The society provides accommodation, food, clothing and financial assistance to 40 children aged between 3-15 years, Qaddoumi said, adding that it also pays the university tuition fees for 40 gifted underprivileged students.

He added that the society spends an average of JD80 per month on each of the 40 orphans under its care.

“I am happy to live at this society because they provide me with everything I need and they buy me what I want. But I miss my father and mother and I long to see them. I am sad because they do not ask about me and they do not visit me,” said Mohammad Saeed, whose parents are divorced.

The 10-year-old has been living at the society since he was four.

Kawthar Yamani, a 13-year-old, said that her relatives took her to the orphanage when she was four.

“My mother and father died in a fire when I was two months old and I lived with my relatives until the age of four. On Thursdays, I visit my grandmother and uncles but I miss my parents,” Yamani said.

Meanwhile, iftar banquets were held in all the country's orphanages today, under His Majesty King Abdullah's directives.

The Jordan Times