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At least 80% of children in orphanages have one or both living parents. Almost all have extended families. With the right support, most of these children could be cared for by their families.
Poverty, access to education, and disability, are some of the main reasons why millions of children are living in orphanages. Families often have no other means of addressing these issues and send their children to orphanages to access support. This support, however, comes at a high price- the cost of growing up in a family.
What Is an Orphanage?
An ‘orphanage’ is a common name used to describe a residential care institution, where children are cared for in a non-family group-based setting, by staff or volunteers.
Other names used to describe residential care institutions include children’s homes, babies’ homes, children’s villages, shelters, safe houses and transit centres.
Orphanages no longer exist in countries such as the UK, USA and Australia, but do still exist across Africa, Asia, South America and parts of Eastern Europe.
Decades of research has proven that growing up in an orphanage is really harmful to a child’s development and well-being. Yes, orphanages can often meet a child’s need for food, shelter and even education- but they deprive children of the most important thing their development depends upon- a secure, attentive relationship with a consistent primary caregiver.
Orphanages are unable to provide this for children, and this results in detrimental impacts on the child’s physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development.
Why Growing Up in an Orphanage Is Harmful To Children
- Deprives children of individualised care provided by a consistent caregiver, which is fundamental for children’s well-being and healthy development,
- Can cause attachment disorders and associated developmental delays,
- Exposes children to a higher risk of abuse, neglect, and exploitation,
- Inhibits the development of social skills, life skills and decision-making skills, which affect the ability of young people to function in society when they leave care,
- Higher risk of experiencing homelessness, trafficking, mental health challenges and suicide when they leave care.
All children need to grow up in a family for their optimal development.
All children have a right to family life.
This is why orphanages have been phased out in countries such as Australia and much of Europe, and governments all over the world have committed to ending institutional care.
So why are there over 5 million children still growing up in institutions?
What we now know is that the practice of volunteering in or giving money to orphanages is harming rather than helping children, as it encourages the ongoing use of orphanages despite the known harms.
A part of ending child institutionalisation is redirecting this support towards families, communities, and family-based care so that all children can access the services they need without having to pay the price of growing up without a family.
How Does the Support of Volunteers and Donors Prop Up Orphanages?
Lots of child protection organisations across the world, like UNICEF and Save the Children, have been working with governments across Africa, Asia, and South America, to help them move away from orphanages and institutional care. In 2019 the UN General Assembly adopted the Resolution on the Rights of a Child, which includes a commitment by States to phase out institutions and redirect resources to family and community-based care.
Despite this, the number of orphanages in some countries has increased, resulting in more and more children living separated from their families.
Working with governments, child protection experts have been able to identify that a significant proportion of orphanages worldwide are not actually run or funded by the State, but are private orphanages, mostly funded by overseas donors. This means money pouring in via individual donations, support from foreign charities and volunteering programs is propping up and perpetuating this outdated practice. In some countries, it’s undermining government efforts to scale back institutional care and develop family-based alternatives that can meet the needs and best interests of children. Privately funded orphanages, concerned they will lose access to their funding, are in many cases resisting government efforts to transition and reintegrate children back into their families.
This is why it is critical for donors and volunteers to learn about the harms of funding and volunteering in orphanages, the best ways to support vulnerable children and redirect their support away from orphanages towards families and family-based care.