Orphanage Tourism, Voluntourism and Trafficking

A growing evidence base has consistently highlighted the negative impact on children of living in institutional care such as orphanages – especially when parents or close family members are still living nearby. The increasing trend in volunteering in or visiting these facilities compounds the issue and the impact on children. Not only does it encourage the expansion of orphanages, but it also makes children vulnerable to abuse in those areas where regulation is lax, creates attachment problems in children who become attached to short-term visitors, and can heighten the risk for unregulated inter-country adoption by well-intentioned volunteers who form a bond with a child and want to take them home.

This section highlights resources focused on international volunteering, tourism, and donations in residential care centres.

Key facts about orphanages and orphanage volunteering

Millions of children worldwide live in residential institutional settings such as orphanages – yet an estimated 80% are not actually orphans and have at least one living parent
Poverty is one of the main drivers for a child to be placed in an orphanage – to access basic services including education and health care
Decades of research show that living in orphanages is harmful to children – the effect continuing into adulthood
There is now a global response to move away from orphanages towards strengthening families, to prevent the needless separation of their children
Well-meaning support for orphanages – through donations, volunteering, tourist trips and faith-based mission – is challenging care reform efforts. This support would be much better directed if channelled towards strengthening families
Despite the best intentions of volunteers and short-term mission teams, the transient nature of orphanage volunteering is harmful to children. Without a family to make them feel secure, children are quick to form relationships with arriving volunteers, only to feel abandoned once again when they leave.
Sadly, our desire to help children overseas has resulted in a rise in orphanages in some countries – to generate income from donations and volunteers. This has resulted in children from poor communities being exploited and trafficked to pose as orphans to attract donors, volunteers and tourists.

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Current Status of Child Care Institutions and Institutionalized Children in Sri Lanka: A Situational Analysis

Department of Probation and Child Care Services, Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, 2013

The objective of this study was to provide basic information on the current situation of children under institutional care in the entire country of Sri Lanka, in order to identify the issues affecting those institutionalized children and to recommend plausible solutions.

No Child’s Play: Respect for Children’s Rights at Tourist Destinations - Examples from Thailand, Cambodia & South Africa

Schyst Resande - Fair Trade Center , 2013

This report was commissioned by the Swedish network Schyst Resande and conducted by the Fair Trade Center, with the overall objective of raising awareness of children’s rights in relation to tourism and travel destinations which many Swedish tourists visit.

‘Boy, have we got a vacation for you’: Orphanage Tourism in Cambodia and the Commodification and Objectification of the Orphaned Child

P. Jane Reas, 2013

As part of a wider qualitative study of the volunteering experience, this paper seeks to critique the problematic relationship between a touristic experience and the needs of Cambodia’s poor children.

‘Orphanage Tourism’ in Cambodia: When Residential Care Centres Become Tourist Attractions

Tess Guiney - Pacific News #38 , 02 May 2012

This research investigates the forms that ‘orphanage tourism’ takes in Cambodia and the impacts of this popular phenomenon on those who are purported to benefit: orphanages and orphans.

A Study of Attitudes towards Residential Care in Cambodia

The Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation , 2012

Study to understand prevailing attitudes towards residential care in Cambodia and to generate evidence for policy development and advocacy

AIDS orphan tourism: A threat to young children in residential care

Linda M. Richter and Amy Norman - Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies: An International Interdisciplinary Journal for Research, Policy and Care, 27 Sep 2010

This article reviews the current discourse on what is being called a crisis of care for children, as well as literature on out-of-home/family care and its adverse impacts on child development. The article also describes an emerging “AIDS orphan tourism” and highlights its negative impacts.

สู่ครอบครัว มิใช่สถานเลี้ยงเด็กกําพร้ (Families, Not Orphanages)

John Williamson and Aaron Greenberg - Better Care Network, 31 Aug 2010

With particular attention to lower income countries, Families, Not Orphanages examines the mismatch between children’s needs and the realities and long-term effects of residential institutions.

‘The NGOs are breaking down our system’: Vulnerable children, NGOs, and the proliferation of orphanages in Ghana

Afra Galama - Masters' Thesis, Anthropology of Mobility, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, 01 Jul 2010

The focus of this thesis is the position of orphans, vulnerable children and orphanages in Ghana in relation to the ‘help’ they receive from western volunteers and NGOs.

Rise and demise of orphanages in Ukraine

Benjamin J. Lough - European Journal of Social Work, 01 Apr 2003

This analysis compares historic and current trends in Ukrainian orphanages with changes that led to the general demise of the American institutionalized child welfare system.

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Ethical & Responsible Student Travel: A self-assessment tool for schools and universities

Save the Children Australia & World Challenge,

This Self-Assessment Tool has been developed for use by educational institutions to assist with due diligence in the planning and implementation of overseas student travel.