A Push Against Volunteering in ‘Orphanages’

On 24 October, Lumos launched a big campaign against volunteering in ‘orphanages’. They held a big event where JK Rowling explained why volunteering in institutions is not a good idea, however well-intentioned it is. The campaign aims to raise awareness, to get businesses and universities to commit to stop encouraging young people to volunteer in ‘orphanages’, and to spread knowledge about more responsible ways of volunteering. This is a wonderful and necessary undertaking. You can find more information about it on their website HERE.

It is really wonderful to see that the movement to put an end to volunteering in ‘orphanages’ is gaining momentum and strength. I am encouraged by the fact that not only are big organisations like Lumos getting their hands dirty on the issue, but more and more governments are beginning to take action too.

Last year, Australia recognised the institutionalisation of children for profit as a form of modern slavery. Making it something that should not be supported. Shortly before Lumos launched their campaign, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office changed its official travel advice to warn against orphanage tourism and volunteering. And at the start of this year, the Dutch government held hearings to gain a better understanding of the harmful effect of volunteers and tourists coming and going in ‘orphanages’. In the week after the UK announced their changed travel advice, the Dutch government followed suit.

I recently decided to write a book explaining the impact of volunteering in ‘orphanages’ in more detail, and I have already started working on it. When I made that decision, the big wave that the UK travel advice change and Lumos’ campaign brought about had not yet been stirred up, but I was sensing a stronger movement in the right direction starting to build already. This came as a great relief to me.

Because when I wrote the manual Volunteering with Children Everywhere, in 2016, I already felt this way. What I wanted more than anything, was to shout ‘Don’t do it! I have seen what it does to the children, please just don’t do it!’ But at the time, it was still a movement that did not look like it was going to go away anytime soon, certainly not one that I had any hope of stopping on my own. So, I cut my losses and wrote the manual in the hope that if I could not stop people from going, perhaps I could at least do some damage control and try to make sure that some of the worst problems were avoided by raising awareness. Much in the same way as I ran Orphanage Projects for over 11 years, at a time when putting an end to institutional childcare seemed like a dream too far-fetched to be within reach.

I am very grateful that I get to see the turn of the tide on both these issues in my lifetime, and that I get to play a small part in pushing them along.

So, I guess I had better do my part and get back to work on writing that book. It will, in a way, be a companion piece to the book How to Help, Not Harm (which you can order HERE), which explains why giving money to ‘orphanges’ is not a good idea. Both books are about raising awareness and giving advice to people who sincerely want to help vulnerable children, and do not realise that they way they are going about it, ends up causing harm instead.

Of course, I will keep you updated on when the new book will become available. That will be a little while yet.

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