Orphanage Tourism

‘Some orphanages are set up literally to exploit children’. Here was JK Rowling saying that orphanages are horrible for children. I’ve always wanted to volunteer in an orphanage.  I thought they were safe spaces for children where they could thrive. However, this could not be further from the truth. 

There are 8 million children in the world who are in orphanages. But, 80% of the children are not orphans at all, and have at least one living parent. So, how did they get there in the first place? Children born to poor parents in developing countries can find themselves in deadlock, with not many options before them. As a result, parents may believe that sending their children to an orphanage is more beneficial. This means that despite having at least one living parent, children may find themselves in an orphanage because of poverty or other reasons such as disability, war or natural disasters. However, once the children are in the orphanage, the dream of a better life turns into a nightmare. Some aren’t even built properly. Children may end up starving for days on end with no food, because there is no money to buy it with. Shockingly, the lack of money may be due to corrupt officials that run the orphanage and take in the donations for themselves. However, more than the physical implications of being in an orphanage are the deeply damaging psychological effects that it can have on a growing child. As a child growing up in a loving home, care and undivided attention are things I take for granted. For children trapped in an orphanage, life is a stark contrast. As the people that look after them work according to shifts, they rotate depending on their shift, meaning that children do not get the chance to bond with them as much as they need to. And as for tourists who come and try to put a little bit of happiness into their lives? The moment they leave, their happiness is brutally snatched away from them. Also, add the fact that there are often high degrees of neglect and abuse, an orphanage is no place for an innocent child.

Considering the horrendous state of orphanages, it is difficult to fathom why volunteers go and help in these loveless and sometimes dangerous institutions. Many aren’t doing it out of spite, but ignorance. They go out with the best of intentions, willing to donate as much money and time as possible. Volunteering in orphanages is also closely linked with students. Many do it for qualifications or as part of their travel experience. According to ReThink Orphanages, more than 57% of Australian universities advertise orphanage placements. Volunteers are misled in various ways. For starters, with increasing awareness about the underlying issues surrounding orphanages, many have slyly decided to rename them. An orphanage may now be known as a children’s home or children’s shelter. Another tactic is building them in tourist hotspots. 90% of orphanages in Nepal are located in tourist hotspots. It’s a great way to lure in tourists and their money. By visiting and donating to the orphanages, we are only fuelling this toxic industry, turning it into a seemingly unbreakable cycle.

Thankfully, there obviously is a solution. Countries such as the UK do not have orphanages anymore. Other countries can follow suit, opting for family-based care, like foster-care. As for us, we too have a responsibility. It’s simple. We should not donate to these institutions, but donate to charities that work to shut down these orphanages and return children to their families, and place real orphans in family-based care, where children can thrive and achieve their dreams.