บท 24: Tragedy of being an orphan and a widow

During this time, I arranged for the temporary settlement of the widows and orphans in the mansion that was gifted to me at the beginning of the project. The news regarding the orphanage was also spread throughout the capital under my orders. This was done to ensure that every widow and orphan child understands that the crown prince of the kingdom will provide them with food, security and a place to live without any attached requirements.

I had made sure to inform the captain that he was to personally visit every household in the capital and personally convey the setting up of the orphanage and its facilities to every widow and orphan he finds. He should be meticulous in this even if the people in the widow's family try to oppose that the customs do not allow for a widow to live in any luxury or comfort. He has to assure the safety of every widow he finds. If he finds anything suspicious, he has my permission to use any necessary means to thoroughly investigate and if necessary be forceful in evacuating the widow.

This was a necessity because I already understood that most of the people will try to oppose the welfare of widows in this society. It was less about culture and custom and more about feeling superior. Widows were oppressed by their own family and society. If someone tries to break free from these norms they are declared as heretics and tortured. If I was to provide them with a safe heaven, I would have to use a heavy hand to pull them away from these clutches.

This show of strength was as much for their oppressors as it was for them. Only by physically witnessing this strength would they have the confidence to move away from the only society they had known all their lives and move on into a prosperous era.

The same show of force was also necessary to rescue the orphans in the capital. Unlike widows, most orphans were pushed into harsh circumstances just for survival even before they begin to understand the rights and wrongs of this ruthless world. Because they had no one to rely upon, they are forced to be turned into beggars or thieves to survive. The disdain and mockery that they face from the society only worsens their situation.

The orphan children are also divided among four sections. The first were the lucky ones. They are left alone to beg and steal. I am calling them lucky because among the four they are the only ones that truly have freedom in their lives.

The second set are those that have a living relative. In most of the cases the orphans that are left under the care of a relative will face discrimination from their own family. They will be looked down upon by the kids of their relatives. They will be forced to do the chores of the house while their cousins enjoy and play. The elder relatives will also constantly remind them to be grateful to them for providing food, security and shelter. This treatment restricts any growth and potential that these children have.

The third set were those who are forced into worker camps under harsh conditions without any benefits. Because of this they lose all hope of ever improving themselves and their position in the society.

The fourth set were the ones with the worst destiny. These are the children that are exploited for the entertainment and satisfaction of the rich and wealthy. It had no corelation with the difference in eras. Every era had such ungodly people that would stoop this low. They were the true monsters of the society. This was a kind of open secret in every era. The reason no one actually did anything against them was because these people generally have a very strong backing.

Because of this I had advised the captain to properly investigate every gossip about the unfair treatment on any child in any of the household and if he is himself convinced then proceed with the inspection of the said property under my orders.

The orphans on the streets will be the toughest to convince because they are the ones that understood the way of the society the best. The daily trials that they faced just for survival had them untrusting on any benefit that came without any strings attached.

The way to deal with these kids was to select the leader of the group and have him personally meet with me and the other orphans and widows that arrived before me in search of aid. Only by witnessing it themselves will they believe.

The next three weeks of searches and questioning was surely going to place the capital in turmoil. But I needed to complete this before the guests arrive.

The orphanage itself will be as big as the palace. I had plans to convert this into the national orphanage, where it will have the capacity to accept and protect people not only from the capital but all over the kingdom. It will be like a headquarters of all the future orphanages that will be raised throughout the kingdom.

I had plans to turn it into a self-sustaining village. I understood that I could not vanquish the prejudice against the widows any time soon, and therefore I wished to convert this into a safe sanctuary, where they will not only be safe but also prosper. I had plans to teach them life skills and other fields of work to make them self-sufficient. I hoped to see them safe and happy once again.

The children on the other will be provided with a safe environment to live their childhood before they had to group up and face the rest of the world. They too will be taught various disciplines that they could use to make their own way in the future, but they will at least be given a fair chance due to the facilities in the hostel.

The next problem was of their accommodation for such a long period of time. Because of my haste we will have more people than the mansion could accommodate and the construction of the orphanage will take some time given its size.

This was where cement came into play.

In this era, making solid houses from stones required a lot of money and time. The houses made from cement will change this industry too like coal-tar had done with roads.

The village surrounding the area for the orphanage was to begin construction this week itself and because of the abundant workforce from the roadways project assisting me it will progress quickly.