This article from Bright Magazine tells the story of Ly Seav Meng and other children who are placed in the care of orphanages in Cambodia, not because they are parentless, but because their parents see it as the only way to provide education and opportunity for their children. "Their rural home didn’t have any schools nearby," says the article. "Like many Cambodians, his mother believed that the best way for a poor kid to get an education was to become an orphan — or at least pretend to be one."
The article highlights the growing number of children in institutions in Cambodia and the fact that about 80 percent have at least one living parent, indicating that the institutions are not really "orphanages" at all. The institutions, which often rely on foreign aid and "voluntourism" funds have become a money-making industry in Cambodia and the funding they receive does not always go to providing education and resources to the children in their care. "The myth that orphanages will pay for school fees or offer specialized courses unavailable in rural areas is so widespread that, for many parents, sending their child to an orphanage is on par with sending them to boarding school."
The article goes on to explain the orphanage industry in Cambodia and the ways in which it makes children vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.