Projects Abroad, "one of the biggest 'voluntourism' companies in the world," will be discontinuing its orphanage trips at the end of this year, according to the article. The company has made this decision in light of mounting research and an Australian parliamentary committee hearing suggesting that "many of the children in orphanages are not orphans, and are being exploited to satisfy a demand from well-meaning Australians to volunteer." Orphanages make many children more vulnerable to trafficking and abuse, according to the article, and institutionalized care is harmful to children's development and wellbeing. Leigh Mathews, of Australia's ReThink Orphanages organization, is quoted in this article, saying "I think seeing one company take the lead on this has made other companies understand that it is possible to do this, and it's not too hard."
