Squeezed between a hospital and a busy dual carriageway heading to France’s Mediterranean coast is a discreet, sprawling walled compound that serves as a remarkable haven.

This is an orphanage that has a unique role – and one of a network of three, called Orpheopolis.

All the orphans have lost a mother or father who were serving police officers. Some have lost both.

Around 70 children are housed in each one of the three orphanages. But in total, Orpheopolis provides care for some 1,000 orphaned children. Many are living with a surviving parent or relatives, but still need constant psychological care or financial support.

Their parents have died from numerous different causes: illness, gun and bomb attacks, accidents related to their work, and often from taking their own lives following depression or post-traumatic stress. Between 50 and 70 officers die by suicide each year in France.

Some 20 children aged 10-18 live in one of the orphanages on the outskirts of the town of Agde.

“Despite their tragic personal situations, it’s vital that they are integrated into wider society, and that’s why they go to local schools and have lunch in the canteens like everyone else,” director Christophe Bart told the BBC.

Read Original Article