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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Moving Towards Family Solutions: An Immersive Simulation Experience

Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO), Hope and Homes for Children, and the Faith to Action Initiative, 28 Nov 2018

This resource is free for use by organizations or individuals seeking to explore or learn more about expanding family care options for children.

Volunteer Tourism in Cambodian Residential Care Facilities—A Child Rights-based Approach

Marit Ursin and Mona Lock Skålevik - The International Journal of Children's Rights, 24 Nov 2018

This article analyzes the impact of volunteer tourism on children’s wellbeing in residential care facilities in Cambodia by employing a child rights-based approach.

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The Love You Give

Better Care Network and ReThink Orphanages, 19 Nov 2018

This film tells the untold stories of orphanages, a system that's harming the very children we believe it protects, and how you can choose to be part of the solution.

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Orphanage Trafficking: What does the growing recognition of ‘orphanage trafficking’ mean for Australian charities and churches?

ACCI Missions & Relief, 16 Nov 2018

This briefing note has been written to give Australian charities and churches currently engaging with overseas residential care institutions an overview of the issue of orphanage trafficking and an understanding of how to ensure any overseas funding and volunteering supports the best interests of children in line with national and international legal frameworks.

Trust Conference 2018: Panel - Orphanages as Trafficking Hubs

Thomson Reuters Foundation, 14 Nov 2018

A panel event on orphanage trafficking was held at Thomson Reuters Foundation's Trust Conference 2018 on 14 November 2018. This video captures the discussions of that event, including a statement from one young care leaver from Nepal who told her story of being institutionalized in the country.

Trust Conference 2018: Actions - Chloe Setter, Lumos

Chloe Setter - Thomson Reuters Foundation, 14 Nov 2018

This video from the Thomson Reuters Foundation Trust Conference 2018 highlights the "actions" that participants can take to address the issues presented at the conference, particularly actions related to ending orphanage trafficking.

Trust Conference 2018: Actions - Chloe Setter, Lumos

Chloe Setter - Thomson Reuters Foundation, 14 Nov 2018

Trust Conference 2018: Keynote Address - Kate Van Doore

Thomson Reuters Foundation, 04 Nov 2018

In this video, Kate van Doore, International Child Rights Lawyer of Griffith University Law School, discusses her experience with opening up an orphanage in Nepal, and another in Uganda, and then discovering that the children in these homes had living parents and families and that the orphanages had been made into money-making enterprises.

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Supporting Careleavers

Peter Kamau - Faith to Action Initiative, 01 Oct 2018

This podcast episode from the Faith to Action Initiative features an interview with Peter Kamau, Founding Partner of Child in Family Focus – Kenya, about his experience growing up in an orphanage.

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Still in harm’s way: International voluntourism, segregation and abuse of children in Guatemala

Disability Rights International, 16 Jul 2018

This report from Disability Rights International documents the human rights violations, exploitation, and trafficking of children with and without disabilities in Guatemala.